


Breaking the sky

by Garchomp445



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Am i the first person to use heatmor and durant as serious-ish characters???, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Emotions, Ice, Lots of cameos from minor pokemon, Other, Robots???, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-28 21:10:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7656850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garchomp445/pseuds/Garchomp445
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Glimpses through the void. Two separate worlds, two Pokémon longing to learn more.</p><p>Rayquaza and Giratina must each overcome their own inhibitions to find each other. The former has responsibilities which affect the whole world, the latter is prisoner of the most powerful Pokémon in existence. They smash through those inhibitions by battling their friends, allies, new foes and old foes, and eventually by attending a charades contest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is very silly, and has kinda turned into ridiculously contrived, ridiculously silly legendary Pokémon fight club.

The wind feels like rippling waves, the uneven sheets of wind biting at every scale, crevice, and wing on Rayquaza’s body. Each movement it makes is another ripple of wind. The dragon spins in midair, relishing the feeling. It begins to accelerate, taking in the vastness of its domain, making certain that every cloud is in its proper place far below the legendary dragon. It breaks the sound barrier with ease, but uses its Air Lock to remove pressure before it builds up, so as not to disturb the Pokémon on the ground. Flying through a rapidly expanding and contracting vacuum, Rayquaza possessively scans the vast skies, and spies a tiny meteor approaching the planet. Snatching it up as a quick snack, it returns to the endless patrol.

\--

 

Surrounded by mirrors, a strange, twisted, and desolate world, Giratina slithers silently through a forest. Its leaves are larger and broader than the tree trunks, massive piles of cellulose that weigh on wispy, delicate branches that reach from whatever patch of floating rocks and dirt is closest. Giratina dips under one, and just barely notices a drop of condensation gliding down a vein. Giratina concentrates for a fraction of an instant, and that patch of its world distorts. The leaf curves, rotating in on itself so the drop never ceases its descent. The drop itself stretches across the whole surface, forming a clear, perfect mirror.

 

\--

 

Rayquaza spots a Drifblim floating up near the top of the stratosphere. Narrowing its eyes, the dragon tries to think critically, but the mental image of smacking the purple balloon back down with a massive punch is just too satisfying. It spins in a circle in anticipation, and then just keeps spinning. The deity decides that it’s much easier to simply make a slight breeze, sending the Drifblim on its way, than to go to all the effort of striking it back down. Rayquaza clicks its teeth together, then dives to take a calming swim in a cloud. A continent away, a scale-shaped cloud floats peacefully. It won’t remain peaceful for long.

 

\--

 

Through the impromptu mirror, Giratina gazes to the old world. Another droplet, caught in Rayquaza’s Airlock, serves as a mach-speed window. The wind rushes by, Rayquaza’s fins spinning, body twisting, pulling clouds around itself. The droplet falls out, giving a view of the vast, blue sky instead, and Giratina shatters the grove to find another near Rayquaza. Each huge, spongy leaf is wrung for its moisture, and those drops separated into billions of tiny, airborne mirrors. The twisted, green and brown strands that used to be a forest drift away as Giratina meticulously scans for another glimpse at that green blur.

 

\--

 

Leaving the cloud, Rayquaza spins about, clearing away the condensation and rocketing up towards its domain. The sky is clear, and space approaching, but the sky high dragon notices a tiny, single drop of water that has come along for the ride. Not an unusual event, as ludicrous momentum, combined with a forced vacuum creates odd, random results, but the green legendary likes to acknowledge them all the same. As it turns its great head for a tiny glance, the drop seems to accelerate in complexity and depth.

 

\--

 

A yellow eye stares through to Giratina’s red eye. The latter stares with grave intensity, trying to memorize each detail of this marvelous creature before it.

 

\--

 

Rayquaza recoils, nearly twisting into a disc shape, but the curious snake on the other side is too tempting to not investigate. They both stare, motionless, until gravity takes the moment from them. The single droplet loses its momentum, and spirals down, splitting the mirror and severing their brief tie. The green monster freezes, and the drop falls away. Rayquaza dives after it, leering at what it thought was a normal droplet, diving to the left and the right to get a different angle. It looks totally normal, it looks full of water, but normal is not what Rayquaza wants. Even with the sea below rapidly approaching, Rayquaza can’t help itself. A massive crash, and the drop is lost. The similarly massive dragon lashes out at the water, thrashing and spinning, smashing and crushing. Water boils, and a small water tornado forms before its rage is quelled.

 

\--

The green dragon’s thrashing means that no single droplet could be still enough to maintain a mirror. Giratina drifts away, the billions of watery mirrors it controlled returning to a relatively natural state. Palkia and Dialga would have already noticed this interaction, and carefully monitored the time and space. It wouldn’t do to have the Renegade Pokémon interacting with the old world at all. Giratina shatters a nearby crag, but even that action lacks a poignance when the shards immediately freeze in place, forming new floating islands. Peaceful, but no replacement.


	2. Rayquaza Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayquaza begins its search.

Rayquaza was diving through clouds daily. Trying to recreate the exact conditions, manipulating the weather in that exact spot of sky. Maybe it was an illusion or a mirage, but Rayquaza knows what it saw. A Pokémon of its calibre rarely makes that kind of mistake, and even more rarely gets frustrated. After another recreation, it decides to try another tact. It’s time to cash in some favours. The Sky High Pokémon rockets off in a direction known only to it, sailing through the sky at an unfathomable rate.

 

\--

 

Xatu stands motionless on its plateau, gazing up at the sun. The sun-scorched rocks around it are peaceful and still, the occasional gust passing through. It’s a dichotomy that Xatu enjoys, a silent location that proves itself harsh for any unprepared adventurers. On this particular day, the weather suddenly becomes much more pleasant. A large cloud blots out the sun, cooling the area dramatically, and Xatu can feel an imposing presence behind him. Its powerful, loud, screeching voice rings out through the canyon.

“I AM RAYQUAZA. YOU ONCE ASKED ME TO SAVE THE WORLD, AND I DID. I REQUIRE NOW SOMETHING OF YOU.”

Xatu does not move, less out of reverence and more out of fear. He nods his head, hoping the message is clear enough.

“THERE IS A POKÉMON I MUST FIND, BUT I KNOW NOT OF ITS NAME. I FIRST SAW IT WITHIN A RAINDROP.”

“A- Creature within a raindrop? It must be incredibly tiny.”

A harsh wind rushes through Xatu’s plumage, nearly knocking the tiny bird over, and he hears from behind him

“NO. IT WAS FAR FROM TINY. ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU.”

Xatu turns around as the wind picks up, a small vortex forms, and a massive heat spreads through the area. Rayquaza is charging up Hyper Beam, a massive ball of energy betwixt its mighty jaws, then releases it into the ground. Rock vaporizes, shatters into sand, then instantly melts into glass. A huge swatch of ground on the edge of the plateau has been severed, and starts falling to the valley floor. Before it travels more than a few feet, another powerful burst of wind nearly knocks Xatu over, and Rayquaza carries the entire, multiple ton slab of rock back up to the plateau. It lands with a huge, hollow sound which rings throughout the canyon. The new wall of rock looms overhead, bits of plant life still hanging off of it.

“Wha- what?! What are you doing?!”

“I SHALL CARVE ITS VISAGE INTO THIS ROCK.”

Rayquaza wraps itself around the massive slab to carve into it with greater precision. Its clawing appears totally random at first, but gradually a consistent image forms. Xatu can see the droplet of water clearly, but the Pokémon inside is not familiar. It’s a thick, spiky worm or snake with vague protrusions from its back, and an armoured head. Xatu keeps glancing up at the massive legendary before him, and makes a connection. The only Pokémon which a legendary wouldn’t be able to find easily would be another legendary, and Xatu knows of one which fits that description to a ‘T’.

“Ah, yes, I know of a Pokémon just like this.” Xatu regains his composure, settling into a static position. Rayquaza nearly shatters the stone tablet in excitement, but remains silent. “In the Unova region, there is a Pokémon known as Volcarona. It lives in a great castle within a lake.”

Wind settles back into a relaxed breeze as Rayquaza nods respectfully, and says

“I PRAISE YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE, XATU. FARE THEE WELL.”

Before taking leave of Xatu’s domain, Rayquaza lifts the stone slab again, then sets it up just above the wall it was taken from. The mighty dragon expels an intensely hot Fire Blast, melting stone with ease and charring what little plant life remains. The stone slab fits back into place, albeit with new streams of rapidly cooling lava outlining it. With ash following it upward, and a vague smell of burning flora, Rayquaza rockets off. Xatu braces for the sonic boom that never comes, then hops over to examine the disfigured rock wall. The mural of “Volcarona” is upside-down, and now the canyon, previously all sedimentary rock, has a thirty foot long stripe of igneous rock in a huge ‘U’ shape. The only true harm is to the aesthetics of the canyon, and Xatu chuckles at the frivolity. He returns to his sun-bathed spot unperturbed.

 

\--

 

The Sky High Pokémon dislikes the Unova region. Like the Sinnoh region, in the past it had large furnaces and power plants; however, unlike the Sinnoh region, it still has them, and incredibly busy traffic passing through the whole region. Just that alone would be enough to burn Unova to the ground. Rayquaza takes it in from a few miles up, searching for any lakes large enough to house a castle. It lowers its head, twisting it aggravatedly, when it realizes that there is an abundance of both castles and lakes, and it doesn’t know how old Xatu’s information is.

Some big tower near an icy cave seems to be the most obvious choice, as it literally consists of a castle in a lake. Rayquaza circles around the tower twice, and finally finds a suitable entrance. Time seems to slow as Rayquaza’s head pokes up, and it spies a large, black dragon waiting for something. Rayquaza stays motionless as it watches this curious creature pace about, seriously menacing the walls, and licks its chops. What a fun challenge this should be.

Rayquaza flies up to the ragged hole, stops in a confident ring-shape, then roars loud enough to bend faraway tree-tops and loose even more rubble from Dragonspiral tower. The reaction is instantaneous. The black dragon charges up its turbine tail while roaring back, then bolts forth with a surge of lighting. Rayquaza dodges nimbly, sailing past the top of the tower, and retaliating with a slow Fire Blast, since it doesn’t want the battle to end too quickly. Zekrom doesn’t even try to dodge, instead throwing up a Light Screen. The blast reflects, instead sailing off into the lake, and harmlessly throwing up some steam. Rayquaza’s mouth curls into a snarl, and as Zekrom floats in midair, still and calm, the former twists itself into jagged swirls. Outrage building, Rayquaza prepares to attack as Zekrom does something odd. Even as Rayquaza charges, something feels odd. Its rampage is slow, and Zekrom dodges every strike with smug ease. While the black dragon flies around, looking over one of its hand-shaped wings in an aloof manner, Rayquaza shouts at it.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! NONE SHALL BEST RAYQUAZA!!”

The psychic voice speaks directly into Rayquaza’s mind, and nearly overwhelms its own thought processes.

“I used a move called ‘Imprison’. Does this mean that you’re willing to talk?”

Head jerking forward, Rayquaza shouts, “I SHOULD LAUGH AT YOUR IDIOCY. YOU ARE NOT WHAT I AM SEARCHING FOR.”

Zekrom turns around fully as Rayquaza darts off towards the tower, head tilting dramatically. It watches as the Rayquaza zips through the jagged hole and further into the building, its relatively lithe form easily slipping around Dragonspiral Tower’s stone pillars and numerous stairways. Zekrom follows, more curious than concerned. As Rayquaza circles a pillar, it launches a Fire Blast behind it, which spreads deep shadows across the walls for just a moment before exploding somewhere behind Zekrom. It’s definitely a different lighting option, as the sunlight dappling through the broken ceilings isn’t exactly ideal at night, but something more consistent would have to be done. Zekrom has lost track of Rayquaza, and plummets between the platforms quickly, until angry, coughing roars and displeased mechanical grunts from below put it on the right track again. In the entrance chamber that humans tend to use, the giant, fallen pillars have stymied Rayquaza’s attempts to Outrage through the lot of terrified Golurk and testy Druddigon. Zekrom smiles at the Golurk’s attempt to shield the Druddigon and each other behind the incredibly thick pillars, then uses Imprison again to stall the harassment. Rayquaza roars back, but retreats further down into the castle.

The crystal-clear water shimmers peacefully, dappling the high walls surrounding it with refracted light. A Mienshao gazes on pensively, eying the distance between Rayquaza and the pool below. With no warning, Rayquaza dives through the surface, but preserves the sanctity of the pool by adjusting the pressure around it. Once it passes through a submerged doorway, nothing seems to have changed.

This submerged section of the ruined tower is totally abandoned, the vast stone rooms and imposingly tall pillars welcoming in their solitude. The darkness is much like the sky at night, even more so with the dappling sparkles at the surface. Rayquaza grins, maybe this is why Kyogre likes the sea so much. It continues to scan the entire area, searching every perfectly-laid brick and cracked green floor tile.

 

\--

 

This time, Zekrom has completely lost its violent charge. It searches quickly, setting its eyes on a Mienshao deep in thought. It contacts her mentally as gently as possible.

“Hello.” She turns to face Zekrom calmly, “Did you see a large, green dragon pass through here?”

She nods vigorously, then points towards the water with both hands.

“The water appears undisturbed, did it just go along the water?”

She shakes her head, then Bounces high into the air, mimics a diving form, and smoothly lands on her long, bouncy fur. Zekrom beams at the display.

“Thank you for the illustration, but I know you are capable of speech. Why the charades?”

With a playful shrug, the Mienshao makes a big show of miming a box around her, then leaps several feet to the side, and mimes a gavel and panel of judges.

“Ah, a charade competition. When and where will it be?”

The Mienshao stands stiff, points at Zekrom then to her head, drops down to her knees and stretches out like a drawbridge over the ground, and finally points to an area to her left. Zekrom nods sagely, and she continues, making a big circle with her arms; although, with her hand fur it looks more like a sideways theta. She passes the circle above her head from one side to the other thrice, then on the fourth revolution stops 20 degrees after passing her head again.

“So in four days, on Dragonspiral Tower’s shoreline?” She nods vigorously, “I won’t miss it.”

Zekrom waves obligingly has it hovers above the still water, charging its turbine. It rockets into the ruins, trying to make up for lost time with speed. Room after room is empty, the low visibility not helping at all. Zekrom charges up Bolt Strike, which soaks the rooms it passes through in a cool, blue light, but it still doesn’t seem to help matters. Rayquaza is just too far gone. Zekrom isn’t too curious about what Rayquaza is doing here, but it does need to make sure no one gets hurt by the overwhelmingly powerful creature. The black dragon smashes through a nearby wall into sunlight, nearly frying the Basculin of the lake with a Bolt Strike, but a very high-level Dragonite tanks the hit with its multiscale. Just as the Dragonite, Dragonair, Dratini and Basculin prepare to retaliate, Zekrom stuns them with a mighty roar, shaking the trees and making large waves in the lake. It seizes the opportunity to speak directly into their minds, harshly and urgently.

“I apologize for my rash assault, but I require your help. Ideally, I would have dealt with a Pokémon like this far before it became a problem, but I have lost track of a very powerful and violent Pokémon in the depths of Dragonspiral Tower. Could you help me search for it?”

Some of the Dragonair and Basculin snap angrily, but the Dragonite nods sagely, speaking in a deep, mellow tone.

“We certainly can.” It crosses its arms, “What would we be searching for, though? Could you describe it?”

Zekrom uses its Light Screen to form a simple, rainbow-coloured hologram of Rayquaza.

“It is at least 20 feet long, very powerful and swift. If you spot it, tell a Dratini, Dragonair, or Dragonite, and I can psionically link through them.”

“Thank you! Basculin, just swim as quickly as you can, but try to keep where I am in mind, or search with one of my cousins. Let’s find this menace as quickly as possible!”

The Basculin bark loudly, then swarm off into the ruins with the various members of the Dratini line in hot pursuit. Zekrom watches them all go for a bit, making sure to secure the dozens of psionic links securely before setting off in a blaze of thunder. This is the greatest exertion of Zekrom’s meager psychic abilities thus far, and it is eager to get back to crashing through obstacles and utilizing its mighty physical strength again. This would be so much easier with Reshiram here, but they aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now. Flying past the other Pokémon searching, and tactfully ignoring the relative indignity of their swimming compared to itself, it scans the ruins in earnest.

 

\--

 

Stone pillar after stone pillar, endless room after endless room. Rayquaza surfaces again, this time into a room with a previously domed ceiling, which lets some of the setting sunlight through. This endeavor seems so singularly pointless from here, with Rayquaza’s beloved sky so near, but it cannot abandon the search now. A curious creature, powerful and ancient, and able to access its sky so easily? Outrage boils in Rayquaza’s gut, and it dives back under the water. It flies under a doorway, and enters what could be a small antechamber. It is certainly the most intact, with two and a half nearly distinct statues. Rayquaza doesn’t care to examine them, and zips through the next doorway, spinning in excitement, but ceases nearly as soon as it enters. It’s just an especially large room, the massive pillars stretching hundreds of feet are certainly impressive, but Rayquaza has seen better before. One of the many holes in the ceiling catch its eye, though, as a red-striped Basculin briskly swims through one. Maybe it’s time to blow off some steam.

“PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

Instead of doing as ordered, the Basculin’s eyes widen, and it immediately turns tail and swims for its life. Rayquaza growls with immense force, rocking some of the less stable pillars, and flies directly for the rogue Basculin. The wall in between the two is shattered immediately, rock losing momentum quickly in the water. As soon as this new room is divulged to it, Rayquaza begins to notice more and more Basculin swimming about, with both red and blue stripes. It narrows its eyes, and flies more cautiously. Only that powerful black dragon could be behind this.

Just a few moments later, in another, very similar, vast stone room, Rayquaza can see the plan coming to fruition. Basculin circle overhead and far below, and each gaping hole in the wall is guarded by Dragonair. Finally, Zekrom and a confident Dragonite float down from above.

“PATHETIC. YOU WISH TO FIGHT ME AGAIN WHEN YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE ME CORNERED.”

“No, Rayquaza, you misunderstand. I just want to know why you’re here.”

“YOU WISH TO UNDERSTAND RAYQUAZA? BEST ME IN SINGLE COMBAT, AND I SHALL GRANT YOU THAT ONE REQUEST.”

Zekrom nearly rolls its eyes. Well, this is better than being left in the dark, at least. Perhaps after a long enough conversation, this beast of a Pokémon could stop being so disruptive.

“I accept. Meet me at the summit of Dragonspiral Tower.”

Rayquaza immediately jets upwards, heedlessly crashing through ceilings and ancient brickwork. Cringing with its whole body, Zekrom grimaces at the Dragonite and his very displeased army.

“Again, I must apologize. I will deal with Rayquaza alone, but feel free to watch from the lake. Watch out for stray fireballs.”

Zekrom follows through the path that Rayquaza cleared, flying slower and more delicately.

 

\--

 

The black dragon floats over towards Rayquaza’s curled form without trepidation, Imprison and Light Screen raring to go. The domed stone spires of Dragonspiral Tower serve as a backdrop. Their audience of lake and shore Pokémon gazes expectantly, and Zekrom thinks it can see its new Mienshao friend somewhere. Rayquaza spins in place testily.

“WILL YOU NOT ATTEMPT YOUR GIMMICKS ONCE MORE?”

“They aren’t ‘Gimmicks’ if they let me beat you so easily. I thought it might be fun to do without, but if you insist, I shall use them.”

Zekrom uses Imprison first, then places a Light Screen between the two. While it does that, Rayquaza searches its back for a specific type of scale. The heart-shaped, rainbow-coloured scale holds memories, especially those of hard and long-fought battles. Just a few million revolutions of the planet ago, Rayquaza used a move called Dragon Tail. Dragon Claw would’ve been much more effective, but this one will be much more amusing. With a vicious smile, Rayquaza dramatically lifts the scale to the sun, and shatters it. Rayquaza feels its Outrage quell, and it re-learns how to use its tail as a club. Zekrom is squinting suspiciously through the Light Screen, ready for some sort of retaliation. Rayquaza charges, purposely causing a sonic boom. Zekrom is nearly taken off guard, firing up another Light Screen to counter any close-range projectiles. Rayquaza stops, spins its entire body around, then whips Zekrom into the nearby forest with its entire body. The black dragon crashes through dozens of trees before coming to rest in a deep furrow next to an old pine, and immediately wracks its brain to figure out what just happened. Obviously that was a Heart Scale, but Zekrom was sure that Dragon Tail was a move with more modern origins. How could such an ancient Pokémon know it so well? Rayquaza, now much further away, takes advantage of the situation to fire Hyper Beam directly down the impact crater. Nearby trees burst into flames, Zekrom goes flying, and Rayquaza chases after its foe.

This is outrageous. Rayquaza may not be tactful, but it is oppressively strong. With massive bruises, burnt scales, and pine needles sticking out of every crevice, Zekrom is on its last legs. Hyper beam takes a while to recharge, and even though it isn’t exactly an ideal plan, Zekrom is more than comfortable with taking insane risks. Electricity surges through its body, its turbine fills the forest with blue light, it narrows its eyes and launches itself into the sky.

Rayquaza’s vantage point is quite perturbing. The fire is spreading quickly, its thick, black smoke clouding the sky, and trees are falling at an incredible rate. The lake Pokémon are fighting it with as much water as they can muster, but it’s not enough. Rayquaza flinches as a still-flaming pine tree collapses into the water. Those take a very long time to degrade. It glares through the impact furrow, determined to end this battle as quickly as possible. As soon as it begins flying, a bright blue cloud of lightning launches itself from the smoke. Rayquaza prepares to strike with its tail again, but Zekrom hits first. The electricity runs through its body, stiffening every action, and interrupting its own move. Rayquaza can feel a claw at its occasionally spasming throat, and an intense psychic voice.

“Yield. I have won.”

“I YIELD.”

Rayquaza immediately dashes off into the fire, occasionally pausing with paralysis.

“What?! You renege so easily?!”

Its purpose becomes clear as the smoke dissipates. Rayquaza uses its Air Lock to remove all of the oxygen around the fire, extinguishing it instantly. Rayquaza releases the Air Lock at the end of the furrow, and the built-up pressure briefly jets ash into the sky. With the rush of new oxygen, many embers ignite once more by burning feebly on discarded logs. Rayquaza dashes over to each one, hitting them with Dragon Tail until the sparks disappear.

“Ah, I see.” Zekrom floats over calmly, the electricity having faded from its body. “That’s very thoughtful of you. Now, you must tell me why you came to Dragonspiral Tower.”

“I WAS TOLD THAT A POKÉMON KNOWN AS VOLCARONA WOULD BE FOUND IN A CASTLE IN A LAKE.”

“A castle in a lake? Volcarona?” Zekrom furrows its brow and grabs its chin. It lands in the charred forest, setting itself down on a patch of dirt carved out by its wing. Rayquaza circles impatiently, then shouts

“I HAVE FULFILLED MY END OF THE BARGAIN. I SHALL RESUME MY SEARCH.”

Head jerking upright, Zekrom holds up both hands and stretches out its wings.

“No! That was the other thing I needed to speak with you about. You are being far too disruptive.”

Rayquaza spins upside-down, stretching its head close to Zekrom.

“RAYQUAZA IS NEVER DISRUPTIVE.” Its voice kicks up ash around the newly-formed clearing and bends the remaining treetops, “I ALWAYS CHALLENGE POWERFUL POKÉMON I SEE TO BATTLE.” It rights itself, nodding confidently, “IT IS A COMPLIMENT TO BE CHALLENGED BY ONE SUCH AS I.”

Zekrom leans back, sitting more comfortably.

“That’s just wrong. No Pokémon wants to be randomly attacked in its own home.”

“YOU MISUNDERSTAND. THEY REALIZE THAT IT IS AN HONOUR.”

While trying to track Rayquaza’s spinning form with its head, Zekrom crosses its arms and folds its wings. “How do you know that? Have you asked any of them?”

“I DO NOT REQUIRE THEIR, OR YOUR OPINION.” Rayquaza takes the time to idly shatter another Heart Scale.

“I used to think the same way. I was so much more powerful than all of them, it only made sense that they would bow down to me. Once you take the time to actually learn about other  Pokémon, you can discover how much meaning and depth they really have.” Rayquaza seems to be moving slower, much calmer, and idly rotates its head away from Zekrom. “This came to a head when I split with my counterpart, Reshiram, and discovered firsthand how weak these  Pokémon feel compared to us. My power lessened greatly, and my first fight with Reshiram ended miserably. We carried on like this, feuding and fighting, until a young man named ‘N’ came along. He is one of the few humans who can speak with Pokémon, and showed me that not only should we care about them, some of them can come to care for us.” Rayquaza’s head slowly spins back into view, and Zekrom’s eyes narrow and turbine sparks as it sees Rayquaza’s eyes closed. “What?! Have you been asleep this entire time?!”

“I DID TAKE A NAP. NOW, I SHALL RESUME MY SEARCH.”

Sparking with rage, Zekrom uses Bolt Strike to jet between Rayquaza and Dragonspiral Tower. With a wide, powerful stance, its telepathy digs as deeply as possible into Rayquaza’s psyche.

“FINE. If you refuse to listen to my arguments, perhaps you can listen to this ultimatum.” Rayquaza glares, tail rocking as Zekrom shocks random tree trunks. “Volcarona is not within Dragonspiral Tower. In fact, without my help, you will never find it, as the information you have been given is misleading and false.”

“WHAT IF I REFUSE TO BELIEVE YOU?”

“I will hound you to the end of the earth to make sure you do no harm to another Pokémon. If you agree to listen to me, then I will divulge Volcarona’s location.”

Rayquaza bares its teeth and relaxes its tail. “THEN FOLLOW. I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE.”

Rayquaza rockets off into the sky, twisting and cavorting. Zekrom’s turbine glows a light blue, the electricity crackling off into the sky with it.


	3. Giratina Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giratina has a rowdy visitor.

Giratina has developed a system. Each seemingly-random arrangement of debris just so happens to line up perfectly from one angle to form a mirror. While that wouldn’t work in the old world, in Giratina’s world, many tiny mirrors, separated by millions to dozens of feet, can form a larger one. It has positioned these optical illusions all throughout the Distortion world, allowing it to constantly scan the old world for that most beautiful of creatures while still maintaining a calm, peaceful facade.

This is much harder when Palkia is actually in the distortion world. The pink monster has been floating around for what seems like decades, gazing at and examining everything. Suddenly, a pink scar appears in mid-air, and Giratina tenses up, ready for what comes next. Pakia leaps through, practically bouncing on the thin air, and stops right next to Giratina. Its intense telepathic abilities are accompanied by a high-pitched screech.

“Giratina! I must show you these crystal fields! The unique geometry of this realm allows for incredible formations!”

The shadow dragon mumbles to itself as Palkia rips open the fabric of space with a sickening crack, and the two of them dive through. Sure, it is a pretty patch of crystals, but Giratina lives here. It tries not to roll its eyes at Palkia’s enthusiasm. The rift closes behind them, and Giratina immediately takes a quick glance around for one of its disguised mirrors. Palkia has sped off into the interwoven and non-euclidean crystalline structure floating between a twisted pagoda, a vast, curved sea, and nineteen forest rocks. Palkia shouts, using its physical voice instead of telepathy,

“THIS ONE APPEARS SIMILAR TO DIALGA’S TAIL FINS! HA!”

The echoing voice does nothing to stymie Giratina’s indifference. Its more mellow telepathy crawls over, softly stating

“Interesting.”

Secretly, or as secretly as it can while floating in open air, it finally finds one of its misleading mirrors deep within the nearby sea’s waves. Even with the vast gulf between them, Giratina can make out the shimmering coral, waves passing just above the spiky, leafy patches with just enough odd, polished protrusions. They seem to align somewhere within the crystal patch, so Giratina lowers its head and briefly wraps its six tentacles around itself in anticipation.

The Renegade Pokémon snakes through the tunnels, the opaque, calcite crystals forming an airy labyrinth. It should be able to view the sea from just the next clearing; Giratina wags its tail absent-mindedly while it flies, focused on its goal. The huge sea slowly comes into view from behind another white pillar, its crystal-clear water nevertheless hosting great, distorted waves. There lies the coral reef, the shiny surfaces coming together to form a coherent massive pink dragon. Palkia speaks telepathically, snapping Giratina out of its concentration.

“You seem a bit distracted. Was there something over there you were looking at?”

Palkia’s tone is distant, cold, and it’s leering slightly above Giratina’s eyes. Giratina rises to meet its gaze, but Palkia looks elsewhere. Without a hint of stiffness, Giratina swirls in a circle, its own telepathy ringing out much softer and calmer.

“Yes. This sea is always soothing to gaze upon,” Giratina slithers its way back into the crystal patch, “but I believe you wanted to show me something.”

Palkia sighs as quietly as possible, pointedly tilting its head to the right, and speaking aloud

“It’s on the OUTSIDE of the crystal patch. Follow me.”

“Ah.”

Giratina, spins in a large circle, tentacles brushing against the nearby crystal wall. Palkia gazes off into the middle distance, then uses telepathy.

“I haven’t seen this place for a long time.” It slowly floats along with Giratina, “You’ve really done a lot with it. I don’t remember there being quite so many plants, for one.”

“Hmph. A lot can change in over ten thousand years.” Giratina slyly curls its head away from Palkia, keeping a careful watch on the former’s expression. It’s disappointed by the result, Palkia just nods its head calmly.

“Oh, that’s really neat! How many alternate realities did it pass through?” Palkia swings its tail casually.

“I was trying to make it feel different,” Giratina leers pointedly at Palkia, “It was always more your project than mine.”

Palkia extends its wings in a half-shrug, “Yeah, I SUPPOSE I got a bit overly excited at the prospect of creating a universe by myself. Sorry you ended up getting stuck with it.”

Giratina’s crest flashes dangerously, and its tentacles spread out as it turns to face a slowly retreating Palkia. The Crystal wall behind reflects its blue light eerily, and Giratina speaks with its rough, scratchy, physical voice, “YOU SHOULD BE SORRY.”

The Renegade Pokémon instantly begins casually floating against the wall again, but Palkia’s wings have extended as far as they can. The Spatial Pokémon’s eyes flash, filling the world completely with red, and Giratina is dragged into a Spacial Rend. Palkia seems to grow in size, and Giratina shrinks before it.

“You misunderstand, Giratina. Your actions have ALREADY sparked a chain of events in the Old World. I have no CHOICE but to stop you here.” It curls its neck slightly before using telepathy for the next phrase, “Arceus is very displeased.”

“Since when have I cared about Arceus!?” It juts its head forwards dramatically, tentacles billowing backwards, “I WILL meet this Pokémon, with your help or without!” Giratina vanishes into its own shadow.

Palkia is alone for a moment, and closes its eyes as it prepares its signature attack.

Giratina leaps from its black portal, spikes and fangs in every direction, and immediately is blasted back into the Distortion World with a Spacial Rend. The shadow dragon flicks its eyes through universes to adjust back to this light level while it smashes through crystals. The rain of shiny rocks doesn’t obscure its view of a stationary Palkia, arms crossed and expression sour.

“I never could understand that about you. Just do a FEW things Its way, and It will reward you, “ Palkia shakes its head, “I honestly did want to help you, but you’re awful at keeping secrets, and I have a job to do.”

Giratina’s eyes widen as it turns, pointing with one of its nubby claws at the sea.

“No.”

The tiny patch of coral, unnaturally shiny spots glinting in the harsh blue and red lights, sits undefended.

“NO!”

“I know where all of your optical illusions are at. It was a clever idea, but you can not affect Rayquaza any more than you already have.”

Palkia moves its hand away, glaring back at a suspiciously relaxed Giratina.

“So that’s its name.” Its teeth are on full display, “Thank you.”

Palkia flinches, but resumes the telepathic connection, “You are welcome. In fact, I could tell you most anything you wished to know about that Pokémon.”

Giratina spins around, facing away from Palkia to float off towards the distant sea.

“Arceus should have sent Cresselia instead of you.”

“They needed me to seal off your mirrors, and Cresselia isn’t exactly at our creator’s beck and call.” Palkia stretches its shoulders, pauldrons briefly perpendicular to its pale head fin.

“Why? Is that equine boor truly so powerless?” Its golden jaws widen and its red stripes flash a dull red.

Palkia rolls its eyes, “No, it’s because she doesn’t WANT to constantly be sent around to calm down Pokémon. Everyone, even the legendarily miserable DARKRAI likes her!” It throws its claws apart for emphasis, then jerks backwards when Giratina teleports into their place.

“Do not speak of Darkrai in that manner. You know not its lot in life.”

“Ah, I apologize,” it tilts its head to the side while backing away, “I didn’t realize you two were close.”

Giratina shrinks away, slowly floating around the crystal structure. The other Pokémon nods, keeping a respectful distance. Palkia concentrates for but a moment, jutting its wings out as space bends to its will. Both pearls glow, its eyes shine, and a pink sphere of light steadily expands from it all throughout the distortion world. Each one of Giratina’s thousands of thousands of mirrors gains a bubble of extremely intense, but cool light. Hundreds can be seen from in front of the sea alone, and Palkia braces itself for the other Pokémon’s reaction. Still within the crystal fields, it floats stock still, even its black tentacles regular and motionless.

“Leave.”

Palkia hangs its head low, and slowly carves a spacial rend behind it with one claw, “Giratina, I really am sorry.” Palkia pauses for a moment, the pink vortex swirling with easy chaos, “For everything.”

Giratina doesn’t even glance at Palkia’s retreat.

 

\--

 

Every single one. Giratina even hid some in temporal loops to counteract this exactly. Its tentacles spiral wildly with it, red spikes carving heedlessly into ancient walls and stringy plants. This waterless bathhouse had one of the more clever mirrors, which utilized the fact that water used to be here, and a few alternate universes where water’s surface tension was much more powerful. As Giratina rounds the last hallway into the main bathing room, body spike chipping a brick from the wall, the pink light from within immediately elicits a deafening roar. The walls rock from the force, but it doesn’t need to break. There are plenty more to check. So many could have been overlooked during Palkia’s brief burst of power.

Three more overturned rocks, one labyrinth completed, and a porcelain plate which wasn’t actually shiny enough to be a mirror, but which has a bubble of light anyway. Giratina stops near a cliff of seashells with no sea, and focuses its power. Its stripes and spikes glow as it shifts the dimensions, forming portals to every universe it can think of. Each portal opens to another Giratina, each with the same answer.

“No.”

“All gone.”

“Palkia is as thorough as we are.”

“Nothing.”

Every single mirrored surface throughout the infinite universes, and each universe’s Palkia has done the same job. Giratina uncoils, spinning in a slow circle. It hadn’t expected anything else.

Undulating as it flies just because it can, it lazily passes through a bamboo forest, twisting and pulling stalks into some vague recreation of Rayquaza’s divine form. It takes the time to carve tiny hands and fins into a few of them with its spikes.

It doesn’t take one with, preferring to gaze away from any reminders. The regular intense pink lighting helps no one, and Giratina finds it a garish addition even if it wasn’t to deny something so important.

Giratina stiffens, spikes jutting out haphazardly. There is another Pokémon within the distortion world. It dissipates its material form and begins gliding through the terrain, relying on its unnatural knowledge of its dimension to find this quarry.

Sure enough, a shadow under a bridge moves more than it should have. Whatever Pokémon this is, it’s still thinking like it’s in the old world. Giratina widens its jaws and moves in, silently, stealthily, directly behind it, and shouts merrily

“Darkrai!”

The Pitch-Black Pokémon’s frills and tattered cloth whips around violently as the world surrounding them is plunged into darkness, it spins quickly with arms raised defensively until it spies Giratina’s goofy grin. Darkrai sighs heavily before reaching out with its telepathy.

“Ah, Giratina. It’s always an… event to see you.” They float backwards, tendrils of shadowy cloth settling into a more regular rhythm, “Must you startle me on every encounter?” 

“Ha! You know I’m a terrible person. How have you been?”

“I was actually relaxing on newmoon island before Palkia arrived.” Darkrai crosses their arms and turns so only one eye peeks out of their hair. Giratina recoils. “It was very surprising hearing about Rayquaza.”

Giratina growls, “I should have expected Palkia to pull something like this.”

“I came of my own free will!” They gesture defensively, leaning forwards slightly, “You have to trust that I want to help you.”

“Oh, and how would that be?” Giratina makes a wide circle around the shameless crony, “Exactly the same way as the last seven times?!”

Darkrai flinches, then holds its head in its hands, “You know that it’s the only way to fix it.”

Giratina smashes through the bridge’s floating supports with its tail. Bricks fly in every direction, besides towards Darkrai, and gently bounce off of the walls and ceiling.

“I can forge my OWN path, I can do this my OWN way!” The bricks stop, floating in midair.

Darkrai glances about, extending its stiff, shadow legs to glide around the underside of the bridge to perch on the railing.

“What are you doing?!”

Giratina swings its head in all directions, making certain that Palkia’s lights cannot be seen through a thick canopy of brickwork, vines, trees, elementary school drawings, and one excessively long semi trailer. Somehow, the shadows seem very off, light from outside the cocoon sharply tapering off to nothing, and the few streetlamps on the bridge are all under Darkrai’s sway. Giratina lets out a low roar as a mighty, horrid Dark Pulse sweeps out, restoring the light, but smashing hole after hole into its canopy. The intense pink light shines back through, and Darkrai stares directly into Giratina’s eyes.

“I really wanted to do this the easy way, Giratina.” They prepare a third Nasty Plot.

Giratina’s eyes flare a deep maroon, spiked tips and dark stripes flashing rapidly, “You’re much weaker than Palkia.”

Darkrai holds out its arms, plumes spasming softly, “Then beat me.” The bridge sinks into darkness as the Pitch-Black Pokémon extends their power.

Giratina roars in response, its scarlet lights expanding to the space around it. Even against the ever-expanding field of darkness, Giratina weaves its way around universes, tearing holes in reality as it goes. It disappears, popping out of reality to dodge a particularly expansive Dark Void, then reappears tantalizingly close to its powerful prey. Darkrai’s back is turned, and Giratina’s Outrage is immense, but it instead vanishes again. A Dark Pulse oozes over the spot Giratina occupied. It bursts out again, trailing its tendrils mockingly into a Dark Void just slightly too far away, then fires an Aura Sphere, dark and smoky. Darkrai flies out of its zone of darkness, and Giratina eagerly follows its Aura Sphere on its inevitable path, jaws widening in anticipation. Darkrai changes course, following along what little remains of the canopy above Giratina, then leaps at it with a huge burst of malefic energy. A point-blank Dark Pulse expands in all directions, sealing off Giratina’s formless energy with sheer malice. It loses vision, then crashes gently into the bridge.

 

\--

 

Arceus’ hooves are sharper than usual as they pin down Giratina’s wings. The toxic old world forces it to remain corporeal, its powers are useless under the deity’s sharp, pointed gaze. Their holy band shifts colours as Arceus channels impossibly painful energy through its stretched, writhing wings. A chill passes through, ice spiking out at random from Arceus’ blue, pointed hooves.

Pointed hooves.

“This isn’t real.”

A vast, immeasurably resonant voice comes from Arceus, “It is real. This is your punishment.”

Giratina laughs wildly, even as the ice gives way to a spike of Ghost energy, easily melding with and painfully distilling its very soul, “What a joke! Arceus would never speak like that.”

It blinks rapidly, and its real body, ethereal, long and flowing, comes back into very painful focus. As does a certain black ex-combatant.

“Thanks for the nightmare.”

“Sorry.”

Giratina floats up from the bridge, loose masonry falling free, to wriggle feeling back into its body. “It was not particularly convincing.” It laughs half-heartedly, “It gave Arceus a deep, actually respectable voice.”

Darkrai pulls one hand to its mouth, “Oh? Really? That’s pretty funny.”

“Yeah.” Giratina avoids eye contact, gazing about to the pink lights dotted about instead. “How did you avoid my Aura Sphere?”

“I only needed to outrun it long enough to get to you.” Darkrai shrugs gently, “They dissipate very quickly once the user faints.”

Giratina nods, then begins to fly off, beckoning Darkrai to follow it. “Your speed is legendary for a reason.” The damaged, splintered and random debris floats away at its whims, “This means that you truly can beat me.”

Darkrai leans in, “Are you finally willing to listen?”

Its eyes flash red, but it slowly nods its head.

“You just need to fess up and apologize to our Alpha Pokémon. It’ll be hard, I know, and they won’t make it easy for you.” Giratina turns to face a random, tiny floating rock, “You shouldn’t run away from this any more!”

Darkrai rubs its temples as Giratina disappears behind the rock. “Want a berry?” Giratina emerges with an oran bush in its jaws, and lum and starf berry trees attached to its spiky tentacles.

“Sure.” Darkrai pulls a single berry from the tree just before Giratina swallows the whole thing, quickly regaining a sheen to its scales.

“I know the severity of the situation. I just can’t grasp that Palkia would help me.” It floats slowly, drifting off in no direction in particular.

“You’re right, probably not. Palkia made one large miscalculation, though.” Giratina gazes over with dim interest, “Watch.”

Darkrai seems to gather up its dark powers, then launches them through the air. Giratina tilts its head at the odd, slowly floating sight, but notices that it seems to be heading for one of the light-flooded mirrors. The ball passes by, absorbing all the pink light into itself, slowly revealing each pane of the mirror. Giratina’s eyes widen, and it dashes over to the proper viewing position as the mirror comes into focus. Darkrai flanks it, trying to look through the mirror as well. The world distorts, and Giratina’s spikes flash with exertation. A giant green face peers through, red lips and eyes wide as it recognizes Giratina. Behind it is the beautiful, hazy heat of a desert summer, a perfect complement to such a lovely green creature. Rayquaza flits its head back and forth between the mirror and a strange, black and icy creature floating behind it, then raises its tail with a purple glow and the pink light returns with a vengeance, totally blotting out the mirror’s view.

Giratina nods enthusiastically, wriggling its tentacles to stay calm.

“I’m sorry, I can only keep Palkia’s light away for a short time, but…”

“It doesn’t matter. Thank you. I don’t care if it takes another thousand years for you to do it again.” Giratina glows softly, and smiles openly, “I never should have doubted you. I apologize for my distrust.”

Darkrai curtsies. “Let’s talk about the First One later. I’d like to ask you a few things.”

“It has only been a few dozen years, and you already want to catch up? Such impatience.”

They drift off into one of the innumerable twisted forests, exchanging small talk.

 

\--

 

A high-pitched whine echoes unconvincingly through the vivid sunbeams and glass-like hall, “You’re CERTAIN that giving it that much freedom, thanks TOTALLY to the Pokémon YOU put in there,” Arceus bucks its head, head plume billowing, “Is even REMOTELY a decent idea?!”

Palkia hides a long sigh behind its vambraces before replying for the utmost time, “Yes, I am. Give it time, patience,“ it speaks slowly, with an encouraging hand gesture, “and Darkrai can convince it.”

The air around them grows sticky and cold, and The Alpha Pokémon gives a look of disdain that only it can. “We will try YOUR way for a time. But if Rayquaza blows up ONE more town, I’m resetting this WHOLE universe.” The caramel air slowly returns to a normal, thin consistency, and Arceus turns its back on Palkia, “You may leave.”

“Thank you.”

Arceus fades from view as the old world comes back into focus. Palkia shifts into temporal tower. Dialga has just finished an odd mural.

“I was expecting you.”

“You always are.”

They exchange a steely gaze. Dialga’s tail fin lowers gently, and it walks to the opposite wall with deliberate languidness.

“You have questions. Ask.”

Palkia thrashes its tail unconsciously, wracking its brain for the best way to put it.

“How many times has it reset so far?”

Dialga turns to face Palkia, narrowing its eyes in dissatisfaction.

“Nine that it has let me know of. This conversation between us is a major tipping point.”

Palkia groans, then sighs, then groans again as Dialga occasionally nods in passive, helpless agreement. It moves back to a wall, summoning paints and brushes with gravity manipulation.

“Tell me again why you feel that this is the best course of action.”

Palkia backs up a little, drawing its hands back to itself. It doesn’t speak for a time.

“I have to try something, and helping someone I hurt in the past can never be a waste of my time.”

It stands tall, arms crossed. Dialga’s piercing gaze softens its posture significantly.

“I won’t stop you from trying. Watching each timeline play out is my entire life. But tread carefully. Do not allow too many to know of your influence.” Dialga pulls its focus back to the tan wall, finally choosing the base coat.

“Wait, why?”

Dialga doesn’t respond. Palkia nods bitterly, then turns towards the stairs, where it summons a spatial rift. It looks over its shoulder briefly, “Hey, if you ever need anyone to talk about non-cryptic stuff… You know when I’m coming next.” then walks through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always liked Darkrai as a concept, as the idea of such a powerful Pokémon being a shy, introverted mess is kinda funny. The Darkrai movie really cemented it for me, even though I haven't watched it in years. Similarly, the Arceus movie inspired my own Alpha Pokémon, especially the voice actor. I mean, the LITERAL GOD of all Pokémon having this horrible sounding, whiny voice was just such a hilarious dichotomy that I had to include it.
> 
> Don't forget to comment if you're up to the challenge.


	4. Rayquaza Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayquaza's quest.

Zekrom jerks upright again, sleep fading from its eyes. It hovers a few dozen feet behind Rayquaza, gliding after its much more exuberant travelling companion. Instead of moving to the next castle, anywhere near the next castle, or even looking for a remotely castle-like object to search, the green wyrm has been cavorting and twirling around the sky for nearly an hour.

“How much longer must you meander about? What is so important that you must pause your quest for Volcarona?”

Rayquaza chomps the thin air, performs a pointless loop-de-loop, then rolls over to Zekrom with an upraised browline. “YOUR BOREDOM WOULD BE ALLEVIATED IF YOU LEFT.”

Zekrom glares, “As if I could do that. You need someone to check your violent nature.”

“THEN THE PROBLEM IS OF YOUR OWN INVENTION.” Rayquaza continues spinning through the air.

Zekrom stares towards the ground for a moment, nearly surprised by the other Pokémon, but shakes it off and leers intently instead, “Are you saying that this was all a trick to get me to leave? Bore me into complacency with aerobatics?”

“MY ROUTINE IS ONLY AEROBATIC BY THE STANDARDS OF DODUO. I AM STRETCHING.”

Zekrom grumbles vaguely, and lets its eyes drift down through the cloud layer. Unova is very pretty from up here, especially the mysterious, reality-warping Entralink below them. Black City stands monolithic and imposing just a ways east, but the lack of truly castle-like structures is slightly unnerving. The green menace is clearly easily distracted, though, so perhaps some relaxation can be forgiven. Zekrom glances back up, to find no trace of Rayquaza. Zekrom brings its arms in and wings out, rapidly banking around to find out where it went. Electricity sparks from its turbine-tail and wings, anxiety flashing out as literal power. Suddenly it spots a green ribbon over Reversal Mountain, and explodes with energy towards its target.

 

\--

 

“FIVE. FOUR.” Rayquaza can’t resist glancing over its shoulder, “THREE. TWO.” It nearly starts giggling at the sheer energy being released behind it, “ONE.” Rayquaza performs a neat loop-de-loop, ending up directly behind Zekrom, then pokes its back with both hands.

Nearly getting electrocuted is 100% worth the tense dragon’s expression of horror, anger, and confusion. “WHAT?! WHE… I mean,” Zekrom flaps its wings in place and covers its face, “That was quite impolite! What was with?!” Rayquaza chooses to let a gentle breeze calm it down, “Why are you going to Undella town?”

“THERE IS A CASTLE HERE.”

The excess electricity finally drains from Zekrom’s face, “Yes, I knew that, but how did you?”

Rayquaza floats over Undella Bay, staring into the churning waters. It can see an old castle, now ruins, but oddly uninhabited. Typical Pokémon love using ruins as homes, but a lack of them could indicate that something has already claimed it. Rayquaza twirls through the air, smiling toothily at the intent electrical lizard preparing itself, then dives with Extreme Speed.

Water requires more concentration than air to keep still, but its fins don’t disrupt the Frillish or Mantyke too much. One appalled Remoraid briefly swims after it, and Rayquaza turns its head around to watch it with a raised eyebrow and slight smile. Zekrom doesn’t even try to be half as subtle with its entrance, and the massive splash reverberates even as far deep as Rayquaza is. Rayquaza turns back around and picks up speed, waving its tail fin teasingly. The castle is made up of giant square stone slabs, but it’s not especially large for a castle. The entrance is a bit narrow, and the tips of Rayquaza’s fins brush against the soft stone. It doesn’t even bother examining the inscriptions as it swims, but slows down considerably once it arrives into the building proper. Rayquaza dashes as fast as it can, but it’s just endless featureless corridors, a massive, narrow maze with cryptic symbols and an even stupider layout. Rayquaza snarls, the reverberations vibrating through the water as it charges a Hyper Beam directly in front of it. The water boils rapidly, superheating and trying to expand despite the overwhelming pressure from all sides. Rayquaza curls up, fists clenched, and fires directly into the ground, but the immense power does little more than mark the stone with a puny black mark.

“THIS TYPE OF DUNGEON TRIES MY PATIENCE.”

“Rayquaza?! What in the world are you... ?!”

A dull sound plays loudly next to the pair, and water jets from every direction with amazing force. The two rocket from the ruins and once they regain vision, they’re back on the surface, floating alongside confused Wailmer and gaping tubers. Rayquaza glares intently at all present, especially Zekrom, then takes a loop-de-loop right back into the water with a massive splash. Only an immensely powerful Pokémon could make a dungeon like that, right? This time, Rayquaza notices a dull *click* as it passes through the entrance, and tries to outpace it, zipping off into the ruins. The soft noises approach annoyingly quick, and again the jets of water burst from every direction.

Rayquaza floats belly-up, staring angrily at the smuggest dragon it’s ever seen. The soaked beachgoers and other spectators are taking pictures from the shore, and there’s one in particular wearing a long black dress. Zekrom grins broadly, hands at its side.

“Ready to give up the search?”

“NEVER. YOU’RE GOING TO HELP THIS TIME.”

“No, I won’t?”

Rayquaza leaps up, curls around Zekrom, then drags the flailing dragon into the water. It’s much less convenient, although a loudly protesting electric-type Pokémon’s angrily glowing body is a serviceable lantern.

“HOW DOES THIS PLACE WORK.”

“I don’t know! Let go of me!”

Rayquaza tries to Body Slam one of the walls, but even the additional weight achieved with a Zekrom battering ram doesn’t accomplish anything. The familiar clicks are heard again, but Rayquaza manages to grab onto something hard and solid before the water bursts forth.

“FAILURE. ABJECT FAILURE.”

It’s just one of Arceus’ legendary type plates. Rayquaza hurls it away, smirking at Zekrom’s appalled face.

“FOR WHAT REASON DO YOU STARE?”

“That was the Zap Plate!” Zekrom floats above the water, “The creator needs those to change type!”

“THEIR POWER IS ENOUGH TO CREATE MORE.” Rayquaza prepares to dive again, “I WILL NEVER SEE THE ALPHA POKÉMON IN PERSON. IT DOES NOT CARE.”

Rayquaza’s descent is more rapid than usual, and it uses Extreme Speed to burst through long corridors, heedless of the rapidly encroaching water. Even before it regains sight on the surface, it spins like a turbine, spouting water high into the air.

“Are you… enjoying yourself?”

“ARE YOU NOT? MOVEMENT IS FUN.”

Zekrom glares over its nose, “Your ideal fun is just rapid, uncontrolled movement?”

“YES. HUMANS ENGAGE IN IT AS WELL.” Rayquaza draws itself up to Zekrom slowly, “ALLOW ME TO DEMONSTRATE. GIVE ME YOUR ARMS.”

“What?! NO!”

Rayquaza snatches Zekrom’s nubby black fingers and begins to sway back and forth, the latter joining in stiffly. The pair spins about in mid-air, then Rayquaza leads with one arm, bending Zekrom backwards with the other.

“This… this is just ballroom dancing.” Zekrom lets Rayquaza pirouette under its much longer arm, the latter’s tail spinning prettily below.

“YES.” Rayquaza dashes away and loop-de-loops again, this time with Zekrom on its tail.

The water is as warm as before, and the ruin just as abandoned. The local Pokémon have gathered around to watch, and Rayquaza smiles at one and blows another a heart made of bubbles. The first click happens,

“Maybe we could try being more thorough this time. Which way haven’t you gone?”

Rayquaza nods, and dashes left, quick to take stock of each new direction. They sprint down a dead end, but a new one from before, and get back to the main, cryptically decorated passageways. Finally, they chance upon a set of stairs,

“THE EXIT EXISTS.”

And the water soon follows, jetting them both up to the surface. Zekrom tries to dance with the distractedly angry Rayquaza, but they end up in an undignified heap floating on the surface.

“I suppose we’re going to try again.”

“YES.”

Rayquaza sprints down the exact turns and curves, and blasts down the stairs, directly into another maze. Still flush with victory, it tries three corridors before Zekrom catches up, the jets of water following closely behind.

The sun has begun to set, and most beachgoers have gone home. Floating on their backs, the two legendary dragons gaze at the clouds.

“QUITE A TRICKY PUZZLE.”

“Yeah. I never really expected a fire-type to live down there, anyway.”

Rayquaza rears up to stare at Zekrom more easily, “SO VOLCARONA IS A FIRE TYPE.”

Zekrom cringes and tries to look at some distant rocks quizzically, “Oh? Huh? How did you hear that? Well, that’s a weird thing to say…”

Rayquaza lays back down into the water, stiffly taking its place next to Zekrom. Small electric shocks jolt it out of true calm.

“Rayquaza, could I ask you a serious question?”

“I DO EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY.”

“What do you plan to do when you meet Volcarona?”

The wind expands outwards, and plumes of water burst from the sea as Rayquaza rises, silhouetted in the burning, scarlet sun.

“I WILL DESTROY HER.”

 

\--

 

Pine trees are ok. They aren’t as inherently cool as sandbox trees or eucalyptus, but not everything can light its own fires. No, pine trees have to wait around for a forest fire before dispersing their seeds. Rayquaza smacks the top of one with its tail, then hovers just above Lacunosa town. The old brick city and its grey walls certainly resemble a fortress, but it’s been pared down and is covered in ugly modern houses. Rayquaza glares into a rooftop pool with especial anger, and notices that there don’t seem to be any humans in this city. It flies to the highest house, perched atop a sheer, grey wall, and lands on the flat roof, crushing the lawn chairs and railings. It slithers off the roof and knocks on the door upside down, smiling broadly at the lack of response. An abandoned settlement, but perhaps not abandoned by the Pokémon it searches for. Rayquaza lazily floats high above the center of town, and prepares to search in its absolute favorite manner. A ball of energy forms in its mouth as it charges Hyper Beam, its blinding white streaks of light turning the depth of night into day. It curls up, and fires down, the stone turning black, wooden chairs and benches catching fire, a tremendous noise of rushing wind fills the air, and a familiar black shape jets forth to interrupt the beam with a Light Screen. The beam ricochets off, and Rayquaza pumps more power into it while staring at the back of Zekrom’s head with narrowing eyes.

“STOP, YOU FIEND!”

Rayquaza immediately pauses its laser drill into Lacunosa town to tilt its head at Zekrom, “I AM NO FIEND.”

“Then what were you doing here?!”, Zekrom jumps up to Rayquaza’s height, then tries to pull it back down, and stage-whispers intently, “This isn’t safe!”

Rayquaza follows Zekrom most of the way to the ground, leaving its head just above tree level, and its tail exactly where it was earlier, “THERE ARE NO HUMANS HERE.”

“That’s extremely wrong, “ the black dragon gesticulates with both its arms and wings, “but that’s NOT who is in DANGER!”

“THEN WHO IS UNSAFE?”

Zekrom’s mouth hangs open in shock as it feels a rush of hot air from the northeast, and the sun seems to rise in a molten fire blasting out of Giant Chasm. Rayquaza lights up and smiles at the approaching meteor, an inferno heading straight for the pair. A great dragon of ice and fire, a furry creature with a long neck, molten engine, and shackles of ice pulls a Fusion Flare behind them, then slam-dunks the massive orange sphere onto Rayquaza’s excited face. The green powerhouse braces itself against the cobblestones and prepares its own attack, but pauses to stick its tongue out at Zekrom as Kyurem-White freezes it to the ground with a concentrated Blizzard.

Kyurem-White charges another Fusion Flare, and Rayquaza stares down the vibrant, glowing dragon with its widest smile and nothing else. Kyurem-White narrows their eyes and glances around briefly before sprinting at Rayquaza again, but the green dragon dives under them, then smacks them into the ground with a vicious Dragon Tail, creating another deep furrow in the ancient cobblestones. Kyurem-White glares at the displaced rocks, but an idea forms in their head as they levitate those very stones around it, and draws on their power. An Ancient Power rises from the ground and fires towards Rayquaza, who dodges with cocky ease, but fails to notice Kyurem-White’s stable mind, tightened muscles, thicker scales, and greater velocity. The Blizzard whirling from the ground lights the gray walls up blue, and catches Rayquaza with its speed and ferocity, chilling its bones and downing it immediately. Rayquaza lands next to the pile of ice and misery that used to call itself Zekrom, and exchanges a look with the former. Kyurem-White steps over daintily, massaging one of their chin-blades with a feathered hand, and wraps the two in a giant snowball until only their heads are still visible.

“We will deal with you two later. Don’t roll anywhere while we’re away.”

Rayquaza watches them work with eyes blurry from the cold, the bricks and benches seeming to put themselves back together under the powerful dragon’s telekinetic abilities. Rayquaza passes out.

 

\--

 

The snapping and crackling of a gentle fire wakes Rayquaza, but its joints are stiff and uncomfortable in the ambient cold. It pulls itself blindly into the fire with just its puny front arms, but instead of meeting hot coals, it encounters a searing-hot, albeit fuzzy bowl of heat. Kyurem-White lets out a confused ‘Hmm?’, but Rayquaza isn’t interested enough to open its eyes. A small claw prods Rayquaza in one of its fins, and the fuzzy heat grows more intense.

“You are the legendary Rayquaza, correct, and not an overgrown, flying Serperior?”

At that, Rayquaza blearily nudges out of Kyurem-White’s turbine tail to gaze cockeyed at their bemused face.

“Hey, look alive, did frost-bite your tongue?” Kyurem-White smiles at their own pun, and Rayquaza finally starts floating again.

“YOU FIGHT WELL.”

Kyurem-White stops smiling, “Er, yeah, “ Then turns to face Rayquaza dead-on, “so why were you trying to destroy Lacunosa Town?”

“I WAS SEARCHING FOR A CERTAIN-”

The Vast White Pokémon steps closer, “HOLD UP, you didn’t even know if something was THERE, and you still decided to blow it up?”

“CORRECT.”

Tubes extrude from Kyurem-White’s shoulders and attach to their turbine, vastly increasing the heat in the vast, icy cavern.

“I have a problem with that. You actually, really would’ve killed several dozen people.” Kyurem-White takes another step and widens its stance, “I may not worry myself on ‘ideal’ behavior, but you are truly evil.”

“I FOUND NO PEOPLE IN MY SEARCH.”

They hover upwards a few inches before stopping, then falling back down.

“What? Did it get abandoned?”

“PERHAPS.”

Kyurem-White narrows theirs eyes, “How did you conduct this ‘search’ of yours?”

“I KNOCKED ON ONE DOOR. HUMANS ARE HIGHLY RECEPTIVE TO GIANT CLAWS RENDING THEIR DOORS ASUNDER.”

They relax, “But you didn’t truly remove the door this time.”

“CORRECT.”

“So you aren’t actually evil, you’re just horribly incompetent.”

Rayquaza rears its head up to stare at its conversation partner at a higher angle, “INCORRECT.”

“This may be news to you, but nearly all humans sleep at night.” Rayquaza begins to glare and shift unhappily, “And in Lacunosa town, they have an INCREDIBLY strict curfew. Even late-shift workers and rebellious teens are asleep in that town.”

Rayquaza settles back down.

“I WILL NOT DESTROY LACUNOSA TOWN, THEN. FAREWELL.”

It takes stock of its surroundings, lingering on the still-unconscious Zekrom laying on the ground for a moment before scanning the brown rock walls and ice slicks for an exit.

“This makes for a pretty n-ICE prison, doesn’t it? How about we talk about what you’re doing in Unova again.”

“NO. I WILL BRING DOWN THIS WHOLE CAVERN IF I HAVE TO.”

A Blast of searing Fire leaps from Rayquaza’s lips to the cavern’s walls, as Kyurem-White’s glowing tubes attach themselves again, “Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?! Talking uses WAAAY less energy than fighting!”

Their lips flap one second too long, and Rayquaza smacks them into a frozen wall with its tail. They ricochet off like a hockey puck, sliding around for an instant before their turbine shoots out a crimson fire. Rayquaza hovers in place, weaving erratically, and spits fireballs in Kyurem-White’s path. The latter pulls back, narrowly dodging one of them, and spins a vortex of freezing wind vaguely towards the former, who ducks under it with now-practiced ease. Kyurem-White can only hold up their arms as Rayquaza zips up, and whips them into the ceiling with its tail, and the impact reverberates throughout the cave. The walls are dripping wet, ice melting rapidly, and a mild rumble puts both Pokémon on edge. Kyurem-White takes the moment to send an ultracold wind at one wall, while Rayquaza shoots Fire Blast at the opposite one. Electricity sparks from the center of the room as Zekrom awakens.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!”

Kyurem-White turns around with glowing eyes and a wide smile, “Zekrom! We’re so glad you’re awake!” They jet up to a tense Zekrom and grab its chin, “We were SHOCKED to see you in the area.”

“Aha, yes, I meant to visit more, but, things happen,”

Kyurem-White draws back slightly, “Well, if you need to talk, we’re here!” They tower over Zekrom, staring lovingly at its skillfully averted gaze, and set a hand on its shoulder.

Rayquaza flips upside down, mind racing at the sight. It scratches its chin.

“YOU TWO ARE GOOD FRIENDS?”

“Three! There’s three of us.” Kyurem-White stomps further into the cave, and picks up a multi-coloured conical device stuck into the ground. Upon activation, a bright glow emanates from Kyurem-White, and their form shifts as they separate into two glowing blobs. The blobs wobble briefly, then re-form as a low-set, disheveled ice-covered dragon, and a supremely regal, pure white, fuzzy wyvern.

“EXTRAORDINARY. COULD I OPERATE THAT DEVICE?”

The white one, Reshiram, tilts its head judgmentally, “It only works for Kyurem, Zekrom, and I.”

“COMBINE YOU AND ZEKROM THEN.”

Zekrom tenses up, and Reshiram narrows its eyes and crosses its arms,

“To clarify, it only works for Kyurem and Zekrom, and Kyurem and I.”

“THAT IS NOT AS EXTRAORDINARY. CAN I SEE KYUREM AND ZEKROM’S FUSION?”

Zekrom tiptoes toward the DNA Splicers, “I am actually in favour of that, too.”

Reshiram turns with a bit of spring to its step, “You’re serious? I thought you didn’t like ‘losing yourself to the fusion’ or whatever.”

The black dragon speed walks over, “Well, you see-”

“ZEKROM IS FOLLOWING ME AROUND ON MY SEARCH FOR VOLCARONA.”

Rayquaza smiles at Zekrom, Reshiram starts, and Zekrom lets out a soft screech, and Kyurem slowly retrieves the DNA Splicers.

“Oh, that’s easy, she’s currently living in the des-urm”

Zekrom leaps over, using both wings and a hand to cover Reshiram’s mouth, then stage-whispers “I’m trying to STOP Rayquaza from finding her!”

“A DESERT, YOU SAID? THANK YOU!”

Reshiram leaps back, turbine spinning up,

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“What time did I have?! You didn’t ask ME why we were fighting there!”

Reshiram and Zekrom stop glowing, “True. I apologize, I should have spoken with you first.”

Zekrom draws closer, nearly touching Reshiram’s forehead with its own, “I should’ve contacted you earlier anyhow. The blame is almost even.”

They both turn slowly to watch Rayquaza smashing the walls with its fire and tail, then Kyurem gestures with the DNA Splicers.

“Activate the device, Kyurem.”

A great light fills the room, and Rayquaza turns its head to watch. Zekrom and Kyurem melt together, and a new, black and blue dragon. Their face is extreme, with large cheek plates accentuating a narrow, black chin, and their musculature is impressive.

“Wanna fight now, green worm?”

“ALWAYS.”

Rayquaza shatters another heart scale as Kyurem-Black prepares electrically charged ice all around it. Illusory copies of Rayquaza stream around the room, spinning and taunting their opponent. Kyurem-Black charges at one near the ceiling, colliding with nothing but rock. The room shakes, and Rayquaza coats the ground with fire. They begin leaping from wall to wall to avoid its assault, jetting nimbly around the magma flares coming from the ground. However, on this next wall, Rayquaza catches up to them and blasts them with a quick Hyper Beam, further increasing the temperature of the room. Steam rises to the top of the cavern as the last of the ice melts, and the pressure stabilizes when a freezing wind rushes in through the newly exposed entrance, putting out the fire at long last. Rayquaza leaves all its illusory copies to harass Kyurem-Black and Reshiram, and bolts for the exit. The misty Giant Chasm becomes its new playground, and it announces its victory with a Fire Blast up into the sky. It does a loop-de-loop, then heads north.

Moments later, Kyurem-Black blasts off in rather cold pursuit.

 

\--

 

The sun begins to rise from her right, and she takes that as a signal to start texting the current Unova Pokémon League Champion. While texting with one hand, Cynthia samples a pricy tea, and surveys the damage wrought by Rayquaza. This house alone has had its roof garden and lawn chairs completely shattered, and most other houses have scorch marks and melted railings. Cynthia ends the text with her signature, stands up to stow away the collapsable stool and fine ceramic tea set, then retrieves one well-worn luxury ball. She spins away from her destination as she throws it into the air, then sits down on her Garchomp’s back without looking at the poised Pokémon.

“Garchomp, take me to the Unova Pokémon League with all the haste you possess.”

She lays down elegantly, securing herself on her Garchomp’s muscular shoulder and waist casually. The Garchomp lets out a squawk of agreement, then she hops over Lacunosa town’s wall, barely landing in the pine needles before sprinting off. She accelerates rapidly, her angular body funneling the wind into narrow blades which whip out into the surrounding trees, cutting deep grooves before severing their trunks completely. Before she destroys the entire forest, the Garchomp leaps into the air, and glides the rest of the way to the League.

 

\--

 

Iris lounges at the far side of a gym, her eight Pokémon stretching and playing around after a long practice session. While her huge pink champion dress is quite comfy, she’s relaxing in track clothes at the moment. She notices her Archeops sifting through her handbag at the other end of the room, and slowly stands up to berate the Pokémon, before Archeops launches herself to Iris in a flurry of feathers and scales. In one of Archeops’ hands is Iris’ cellphone, with a dozen recent texts, but one in particular which stands out.

“What?! Cynthia?”

She immediately unlocks the phone and reads the message out loud to her Pokémon:

“Cynthia wrote, Your Pokémon League is under grave danger. Meet me on the roof to fight off an angry legendary dragon? Ooh, yeah, we’ll have fun with this one!”

She raises her fist triumphantly as her Pokémon let out various screeches and roars. In just a few seconds, she gathers her six strongest and lets Archeops fly her to the roof

 

\--

 

“NOW THAT IS A CASTLE!”

The Unova Pokémon League’s giant golden domes reflect the morning sun with great intensity. The huge desert surrounding the buildings magnifies the light, and its open-air architecture does it no favours either. Rayquaza spins around one of the huge crags before rocketing to the main dome on top. The centerpiece is a nearly spherical, highly reflective capstone. Rayquaza glances at it, but sees something totally awful, terrible, and immediately glares at the creature within. It’s that Pokémon again, but this time with a tiny black Pokémon in the background. Rayquaza spins around, then smashes the sphere off into the distance with its tail. It roars triumphantly, turns, and receives a claw to the face. A Garchomp with trainer nearby prepares another Dragon Claw, but Rayquaza takes the chance to smack it off the roof with a mighty Dragon Tail. Cynthia reflexively switches Pokémon, immediately sending out her Milotic, which curls up and prepares to retaliate, but Rayquaza flies off, shattering a heart scale as it goes. Its ascent is halted when a dozen comets fall from the sky, smashing their target into the roof, directly in front of Iris’ Salamence. It lopes forward with its mouth open at Iris’ command, but Rayquaza smashes into it with full force. In its Outrage, it scrapes Salamence along the roof while flying directly towards Milotic, who it smashes through the golden dome with Salamence’s entire body. Both Pokémon faint, and return to their Pokéballs, but Rayquaza is so confused that it smashes itself into the roof before regaining its composure. Cynthia spins her Pokéball up in the air to let out her Togekiss, and Iris hops in place before letting her Aggron onto the roof. Rayquaza tilts its head as the two prepare their attacks, Aggron shedding the heaviest parts of its armour, and Togekiss gathering static electricity by rubbing its wings together, but its still so out of it that it spams into the roof again. Cynthia keeps a hand out to warn Togekiss back as Aggron sprints up alone, but to an undefended, weakened Rayquaza weak to Aggron’s most powerful move. A sonic boom sounds off in the distance, distracting Aggron for an instant, then Kyurem-Black smashes through the metal tank with a Bolt Strike. Aggron digs a furrow in the already-porous metal dome, and with Kyurem-Black still sitting atop the roof, Rayquaza snaps out of it and smashes the roof with an Earthquake. Aggron faints, Kyurem-Black whips around to face Rayquaza, and Togekiss takes off, wings fluffing out dramatically. It uses Kyurem-Black’s confusion to knock it off of the roof with its tail, then launches a Fire Blast into Togekiss’ descending form. She flits out of its range, narrowly avoiding a roast, but the two trainers also lose sight of their quarry.

“YOU TRIED TO HELP ME.”

“I will not allow mortals to interfere.”

Rayquaza spins around, then hurls a pink heart scale at Kyurem-Black.

“THEN WE SHALL DEFEAT THEM.”

Kyurem-Black hurls it to the ground and scarfs down a few berries instead. Rayquaza tilts its head, then the pair blasts into the sky, Kyurem-Black’s trail of blue light synchronizing in a wide spiral with Rayquaza’s green tail.

Cynthia and Iris jump back from the edge of the dilapidated, sunken roof, withdrawing all but two Pokémon. Cynthia’s Togekiss loops and caws, Iris’ Lapras sits tense and ready, Kyurem-Black nods towards Lapras. Rayquaza hangs back as its partner Bolt Strikes its target, and before Togekiss can intervene, it releases a huge Hyper Beam, KO-ing her immediately. Lapras goes down, and the champions send out Archeops and Glaceon. Glaceon retreats to the side, setting up a psychic Barrier with its front paws, and Archeops swiftly smacks Kyurem-Black by bounding off the floor, then glides off of the roof, her target following the bait with random shocks of electricity. Rayquaza continues recharging while Glaceon stares into its intense gaze. They fire their attacks simultaneously, the superheated Fire Blast totally dissipating Glaceon’s swirling Blizzard. Rayquaza soars overhead, reacting instantly to any move its prey makes with another Fire Blast. As soon as it reaches the side Iris dropped off of, Rayquaza falls down to join Kyurem-Black.

The duelling Pokémon are still fighting. Even with obviously paralytic shocks and half-frozen wings, the Archeops is hopping from pillar to pillar around the Unova Pokémon League building. Kyurem-Black hops up, its huge form cracking the sandstone statue in the middle, but Archeops sneaks behind it with a pile of sharpened rocks. Just as Iris shouts the command to attack, Rayquaza roasts away what little health the prehistoric bird had left. Just as it begins a mighty roar, and Kyurem-Black hops down, Cynthia leaps down through the ceiling with her Lucario. She takes a wide stance, then unleashes a flurry of blows directly into Kyurem-Black’s face and arms, shattering one of their plates of frozen armour. Even with an immediate retaliatory Bolt Strike, the legendary fusion is looking much worse for wear. A Hydreigon appears from behind Rayquaza with a Focus Blast ready to fire from all three heads, so Rayquaza uses Dragon Tail on the statue to fill the room with dust. It charges the offending Pokémon, Outrage filling all its senses, and smashes Hydreigon into the ground. Salamence comes out again, but Rayquaza swiftly smashes it into an adjacent pillar, and moves onto the next Pokémon, an average Haxorus. The Haxorus seems to be more focused and composed than Iris’ other Pokémon, but Rayquaza heedlessly smashes back into the league building, crushing it into the remnants of the statue. Rayquaza has exhausted itself, and lays amongst the rubble for an instant, staring at the ceiling. A green shape emerges from the wreckage, shaken, but not down for the count. It taunts Rayquaza with a short dance, then again as it circles the legendary’s prone form. It mimics a Guillotine near some rocks, then fills itself with Outrage as Rayquaza spasms yet again. Rayquaza spasms up, then as gravity takes back over, slams its whole weight into the ground with the force of an Earthquake. The roof finally collapses, Haxorus faints under just the slight additional strain, and Rayquaza rises from the rubble, rocks falling and Iris defeated. It looks around for its second, and Kyurem-Black lies defeated at the front of the Pokémon league, powerful veteran trainers looking on with Cynthia and her Garchomp. Rayquaza screeches, and Garchomp sprints towards it. The legendary instead hovers just out of her reach and rains fire around the Pokémon League. It launches a massive fireball right between Cynthia and Garchomp, then dives to grab Kyurem-Black by the waist. A veteran trainer’s Durant manages to sprint up, but faints to a short puff of fire before Rayquaza takes off again. It tilts its head just enough to see Garchomp easily putting the fires out with stones and strategic tremors, so it forms a quick stormcloud to hide Kyurem-Black in, and falls through the now bone-dry air. Garchomp leaps off the rocky cliff, nearly clipping Rayquaza’s flight with an angry claw attack, and the pair crashes down the unstable mountainside. A new boulder shakes loose at their feud, and Rayquaza blasts it, and the rest of the cliff with Hyper Beam. As it recharges just below another huge mountain slide, maw gaping at the rumbling stones and heavy brown boulders, it feels a sharp tug from underneath. Darkness spreads over its vision, so it shoots fire in all directions. The cave rumbles under the pressure, pebbles scattering from the ceiling and making waves in the tiny river. Rayquaza notices a single purple figure racing across it, and follows it with a trail of fire, melting stone but banishing the darkness. Steam and falling rocks trail just behind its tail, and it spies Garchomp standing wide-eyed next to a dead end. Rayquaza slams into the wall with all the power it possesses, and the wall yields. The pair fall into a short shaft which is swiftly filling with gravel. Even with pebbles raining on their heads, they both take a moment, and Rayquaza lights a Fire Blast as a pseudo camp fire.

Garchomp is breathing heavily, so Rayquaza uses the bulk of its tail to shield her from the rubble.

“HOW DO WE ESCAPE, CAVE-DWELLER?”

The Garchomp cringes, and a large stone collides painfully with one of Rayquaza’s fins. The cramped quarters are doing them a great disservice, as they are already covered with cuts and bruises.

“My trainer thinks of plans. I execute them.”

Rayquaza nods, and the Garchomp cocks her head receptively, “I THOUGHT THAT WAY ONCE.”

“You are not wild?”

“I was NOT WILD. SHE IS NOW DEAD.”

The Garchomp retracts again, and Rayquaza flips over to bruise its other side.

“I apologize, I did not mean,”

“MILLENNIA AGO.”, the rocks have piled up to Garchomp’s knees, “AND WORRY NOT, I HAVE A PLAN. IN WHAT TECHNIQUES HAS YOUR TRAINER EDUCATED YOU?”

Garchomp widens her stance and holds her head high, “I have learned Dragon Rush, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Fire Blast.”

“MOST EXCELLENT.” Rayquaza flits up, and turns towards the wall opposite Garchomp, “WE SHALL SMASH OUR WAY FREE. MELT THE ROCK THEN CARVE IT OUT OF THE WALL.”

Garchomp grins widely, claws out, dust ignored, and partner ready. They simultaneously Fire Blast the wall, but the Garchomp is the first to claw the molten stone from its hold, her sheer menace propelling her further. Once her claws begin to wear, she leaps back and shoots fire, Rayquaza taking her place. It uses its whole body as a drill, fins scraping rock out deep into the wall as it rotates, but it swiftly loses feeling along their length. It loops around the flame-spewing Garchomp, shaking with anger, then charges the wall with its full strength, scooping out whole boulders of rocks at a time. Their tunnel narrows, Rayquaza growing more and more impatient to get free, but its Outrage breaks before the wall does. In its confusion, it lights the ceiling and floor of their tiny chamber with Fire Blast instead of the mostly molten target of their attacks. Garchomp ducks, then smashes Rayquaza’s jaws shut with its elbows. Even in the still darkness, molten rock glowing gently behind them, they can feel the mountain shake, and resume their task with gusto. Rayquaza spews fire in a beam directly in the center while Garchomp scrapes the edges. The wall behind them, a sloppy pile of discarded igneous rock, seems to be advancing far too quickly. It screeches, signalling to swap places, but when Garchomp begins a Fire Blast, it doesn’t stop, and the two merge into a white-hot flame. Stone drips from every wall, Garchomp gapes, and Rayquaza sucks what little air remains into its maw for a massive Hyper Beam. Air rushes in from some unseen cave, solidifying a tube of rock in its wake. The unprepared Garchomp faints, so it carries her into the next cavern. 

An impossibly massive expanse awaits, a cave no force of nature would make on its own. And it holds nothing of nature, a tiny crack in the ceiling casting just enough light to make out a titanic ruined castle. Rayquaza sweeps towards the center, taking in the dilapidated architecture. Hundreds of floors are separated by thick pillars, the simple design repeated for row upon row. A particular opening catches its eye, and it curls around the side to view a ruined throne room with a lone figure pacing in the middle, surrounded by Pokémon. Rayquaza slowly lays Garchomp on the edge of a long catwalk nearly reaching through the window, and locks eyes with the trainer. The human leaves his Pokémon, and strides up the stairs towards Rayquaza. It coils up on the catwalk, forming a physical barrier for Garchomp, then roars with commanding power.

“I SHALL BATTLE YOUR TRAINER BUT APPROACH THIS GARCHOMP AND YOU SHALL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE.”

Rayquaza raises its head like a cobra, glowering over the suspiciously calm Pokémon, then finally turns its gaze to the pathetic human before it. He speaks in the language of Pokémon, but nearly too fast for it to understand,

“Oh wow, you’re Rayquaza? I apologize for approaching so carelessly, “ The trainer bows low, “ but I mean you no harm, and if your Garchomp is injured we can help heal her. My name is N, “ He looks over Rayquaza as well, starting at the deep burns and raw fins, “ and it is an honour to meet you,”

Rayquaza smacks N across the room with Dragon Tail, and his Pokémon leap into action, Politoed, Lanturn, Starmie, and Omastar fire a massive combined Hydro Pump, Tentacruel sneaks up to the side to blast boiling water, and Kabutops makes a beeline for it. Rayquaza aims its head away from the two water spouts, then KOs every Pokémon in the room with a single Earthquake. Starmie nearly survives, but a leer from Rayquaza convinces it to faint.

“YOU ARE NOT A ZOROARK. CONTINUE.”

N moans in pain from across the room, he clutches his chest with his scraped hands and lays with his back to a ruined pillar. He closes his eyes briefly, then Rayquaza slowly hovers over to him.

“ARE YOU INJURED?”

N looks up with a pained, but concerned expression, and makes a sort of gasping noise. Rayquaza tilts its head, twirling around in the air quickly, then a shout comes from behind,

“What has come to pass?!” The Garchomp limps over, staring at each of the fainted Pokémon pointedly, “Rayquaza, explain!”

“I CHALLENGED THIS TRAINER AND DEFEATED HIS POKÉMON WITH ONE MOVE.”

Garchomp narrows her eyes and stomps towards Rayquaza, finding new strength in N’s broken form.

“Explain why he is injured.”

“HE CAN SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF POKÉMON. I THOUGHT HE MAY HAVE BEEN A ZOROARK.”

Garchomp spits out several teeth, her scales’ pallor and level of coverage leaves much to be desired, but her menacing aura is untainted. She barks her next words,

“What excuse is that?! No Pokémon should randomly attack another!” She spreads her claws and bares her teeth, “Cynthia was right to label you ‘mad’.”

“YOU WOULD BE A FOOL TO DENY ME THAT RIGHT,” Rayquaza lowers its head to her level, “OUR BATTLE PROVED AS MUCH.”

N cringes as the two injured Pokémon circle each other, and pulls out his thankfully-only-dented Xtransceiver to make some frantic calls. He coughs harshly before it can pick up his voice, and the other device answers with incredible speed.

“Natural Harmonia Gropius, former king of team Plasma. I trust you have something important to say?”

The screen only shows one side of Cynthia’s face, and a confident smirk. The background is clearly a Pokémon center, complete with a Druddigon squinting at N and an overabundance of trainers.

“I-I’m in my castle hidden in victory road and need help, and I’m pretty sure this is your Garchomp? She’s certainly strong enough to be yours!” N turns the screen around to point the camera at the two Pokémon, clearly too tired to actually fight, “And I just met Rayquaza, who smacked me across the room and KOed all the rain-themed Pokémon I collected across the Johto Kanto Hoenn and Sinnoh regions as well as a few outlying islands, my usual strategy in these fights didn’t work at all and it thought I was a Zoroark,”

Cynthia nods gently, pursing her lips, “You seem pretty out of it. Lay low until we get there.”

“You might not know where my castle is, it’s hidden in the mountain…”

“I have a guide.”

Cynthia dramatically pans the camera away from her face, across the floor, out the door, and directly in front of the massive black dragon stomping impatiently outside. N waves feebly, nearly fainting at the exertion, and Kyurem-Black nearly smashes through the delicate screen with its claw in trying to comfort him. 

They take the device from Cynthia and strap it to their own wrist, its band barely stretching far enough to clasp. Iris, Cynthia, and a nurse with several Audino climb onto its back, then Kyurem-Black secures them all with two of its shoulder-mounted injector tubes, extending them enough to use as seat belts. They tie the tubes in front like a bow before blasting off with the last two injector tubes and far too much electricity. Iris’ already frizzy hair doesn’t mind, and Cynthia’s is already slathered in professional styling product that has lasted through far worse.

 

\--

Garchomp and Rayquaza are doing little more than growling at each other by the time the two trainers and Kyurem-Black show up. N’s Pokémon are safely back in their Pokéballs, and once the nurse sprints over to check on him, he makes certain his Pokémon are healed first. Iris steps over slowly with her Haxorus, physically separating the feuding Pokémon and N, and Cynthia brings out Garchomp’s Pokéball.

“Time to return.”

Garchomp glares over out of the corner of her eye, still fixated on Rayquaza, and dashes to the side when Cynthia fires the return beam. Rayquaza sits back, nearly relaxing on its slowly sagging tail, Iris covers her mouth, and Cynthia nods once, then stands up to her full six foot height to glare over her nose at the Garchomp. She fires again, and the Garchomp dodges again, so she rapidly switches to Spiritomb, who swirls menacingly to prelude an attack. Rayquaza and Garchomp both shoot a Fire Blast, instantly KOing the Spiritomb, and leaving Cynthia aghast at her own Pokémon. N whispers from behind Haxorus,

“Garchomp, didn’t you express your displeasure for Rayquaza? Don’t you want it to face justice?”

She growls, and lowers her center of gravity, but the Haxorus steps up, and speaks haltingly,

“You are both very injured, yes? Maybe it’s time to stop the fighting so you don’t get more hurt.”

She crosses her arms, and holds still even when Garchomp stands right in front of her, the taller Pokémon exuding sheer menace with her every breath. Suddenly a loud crash sounds from behind them, Rayquaza’s ludicrous length has splayed across nearly the entire room. Garchomp lets out a coughing roar of triumph, marching around shakily. Haxorus steps back towards a confused Iris, Cynthia taps her foot testily, Kyurem-Black smiles, and N stands up with help from an obliging Audino.

“If you don’t mind me asking, miss Garchomp, what exactly happened between you and Rayquaza? It must’ve been quite the event, and I’m afraid to say that your trainer probably won’t find any excuse able to satisfy her current mood, but it’d really help to know more.”

Haxorus nods, stepping back to smile at N, but Garchomp nearly collapses whilst trying to recall,

“We were in the middle of a battle, and Rayquaza activated a very disruptive rockfall.” She takes a moment or twelve to glare at the unconscious wyrm at her feet, “I saved both of us by sprinting into a cave, but the repeated impacts damaged the mountain’s stability.” She idly picks at a scaleless patch of skin with one claw, “It is a HIGHLY disruptive fighter. I would imagine that it might’ve destroyed this entire continent if it were awake right now, in fact, I’m glad that I attacked someone who saved my life several times over.” She gapes at her own words, then crushes a rock with one toe.

N smiles sadly, but Kyurem-Black stares skeptically. Their voice booms out across the room, waking Rayquaza’s restless nap.

“Rayquaza saved your life? What an odd occurrence!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“YES IT WOULD BE MORE TRUE TO SAY THAT SHE SAVED MINE.”

Garchomp nearly trips backwards, then clutches her aching head with both claws, Kyurem-Black totally steps back, eyes and stance wide. Haxorus just nods with approval while the humans pester N for a translation.

“MY PLAN WOULD NEVER HAVE WORKED WITHOUT YOU. I OFFER YOU MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE.”

Rayquaza bows with just its front half, spreading its arms in a pseudo-curtsy. Garchomp grumbles something, but Kyurem-Black stomps forward.

“What kind of joke is that?”

It swivels to side-eye them, and rests its arms back on the ground.

“I DO NOT JEST.”

“Then you are terribly inconsistent! Just yesterday you were willing to destroy an entire town to search for your personal grudge!”

Electricity arcs from Kyurem-Black’s turbine, Rayquaza slithers forwards,

“BUT I DID NOT. ZEKROM CONVINCED ME OTHERWISE.”

The electricity dies down, and they squint, “So you really are grateful to Garchomp?”

“CORRECT.”

They glare, but relax their shoulders and turbine, “What are your ideals, then? We cannot piece your true motives together.”

“MY IDEAL WOULD BE TO PROTECT THIS PLANET FROM GROUDON KYOGRE AND EXTRATERRESTRIAL THREATS.” 

Rayquaza loops upwards, chin high, and glowers over Kyurem-Black. Haxorus and Garchomp nod sagely, but its main opponent just shakes their head.

“I meant your driving motivations, how you go about it, not just the meat of what you do.”

“I PROTECT POKÉMON. THAT IS HOW.”

“What? You beat them up randomly! How is attacking the same as saving?!”

Rayquaza tilts its head, “I DO NOT ATTACK RANDOMLY. A PROCLAMATION OF MY PRESENCE IS VERY IMPORTANT.”

Kyurem-Black huffs and stomps to the side, and N walks over by himself,

“You train yourself and others by fighting constantly?”

It nods.

“Have you considered a sparring partner, or just challenging the elite trainers and Pokémon instead of rampaging all over the place? It’d be easier to find someone strong enough to pose a challenge. Er, that’s what Cynthia suggested at least.”

He stands stock still as Rayquaza begins to float again, and strangely fresh air replaces the usual must of the old castle.

“I DO NOT DESIRE A TRAINER.”

N briefly looks back at Cynthia before stammering on,

“I don’t think you’d need a trainer? Just ask a friend to help you out, or befriend a really strong Pokémon, like Kyurem or Zekrom over here.”

“FRIENDS ARE NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO CONSIDER.”

Haxorus immediately steps forward, Kyurem-Black revs up its turbine and glares tremendously, Garchomp sneaks a glance at Cynthia before staring into a pillar, and N nods and puts his hands on his hips. They all start speaking simultaneously.

“Now that’s simply not correct,”

“Did all of that SWIMMING mean NOTHING to you?! We NEVER go swimming!”

“I guess I WON’T save your life next time.”

“That makes perfect sense! You’re so isolated and separate from the rest of us…”

Iris grimaces at the angry cacophony, and Cynthia stares at Rayquaza’s slowly turning form, noticing that its eyes are closed.

“Iris and I have a strong, unspoken bond, just by staying with each other!”

“I know we’ve been mean, but we’ve also been through a lot together, and we were…”

“Cynthia is so powerful, even being in her presence makes me stronger,”

“no wonder you don’t understand any sort of social norms, such as not smacking someone across the room,”

Rayquaza shakes its head to wake back up, stretches its claws out, then lollops its head towards those speaking.

“SHALLOW. THOSE ARE SURFACE DETAILS. I CAN FIGHT IRIS CYNTHIA OR ANY OF KYUREM’S FUSIONS.”

Kyurem-Black snorts loudly, stomping forward, “That’s not what we meant! It’s about building a relationship! A partner!”

It tilts its head aggressively, “I DO NOT DESIRE A TRAINER.”

“Stop saying that! What does this have to do with a trainer?! You can love anyone you want!”

“DEFINE LOVE.”

Kyurem-Black stands stock still for a moment, then stares at the floor before answering slowly and deliberately, “It’s an emotional, experience. If you share enough time, energy, and mutual trust, you can… “ The other Pokémon look at them expectantly, “uh, fall in love. Where you’d want to spend MORE time and energy with each other. You end up liking everything about them, and you two will stop smirking unless you want a glacier to the face.”

Rayquaza tilts its head so much that it turns upside-down, as Garchomp and Haxorus are giggling madly next to a perplexed N. Garchomp barks out,

“Like Kyurem and its dates, Reshiram and Zekrom.” She smiles excessively at Kyurem-Black, who immediately turns to face the opposite wall instead. N mouths an ‘O’, then immediately gossips to Cynthia and Iris.

“LOVE ALLOWS FOR FUSION?”

Garchomp turns back to it more soberly, “No. They’re special, but everything else was accurate. You don’t have to fall in love, but just making friends, somehow, would be really helpful for keeping this planet intact.”

Rayquaza spins about, glaring at the various people and Pokémon in turn. An Audino finally works up the nerve to try and use Heal Pulse on Garchomp, N turns around to a very confused Cynthia and Iris, Haxorus murmurs something to Garchomp, and Rayquaza grasps its head, then turns around and flies out of the castle. It has far more important business to attend to.

The promise of clear, uninterrupted sky is too much for Rayquaza to bear, and it zips around the castle as fast as it can. The morning sun glitters off of the dew around grass and nearby trees, and the scent of pine fills its nose. There is just one stop left, and Rayquaza will finally be done with this proximity to the ground.

 

\--

 

“Where did Rayquaza go?” All entities left in his castle stare at N in shock, “It was just there, right? It didn’t say goodbye.”

Kyurem-Black immediately jets out of the castle, nearly jolting the crowd in its hurry, Cynthia and Iris return their oddly close Pokémon, and N just nods.

“It’s probably already waaay too far away.”

Iris turns to N and points out the side of the castle, “That Pokémon is super dangerous, though! I’m going to alert the gym leaders!”

Cynthia notices that her Xtransceiver is still missing.

“Black Kyurem still has my Xtransceiver,” She leans her head towards N pointedly, “if anyone knows where it’s headed…”

Iris bares her hands excitedly, “That’s right! N, call Cynthia!”

N cringes and makes noncommittal noises, “Well, Rayquaza was really quite reasonable about making sure not to hurt people, usually,”

“Grr! Cynthia, what’s your…” Iris turns around to see Cynthia stepping backwards onto her Togekiss. She blows a kiss, then falls out of view. Iris turns back around in a huff.

“Uh, don’t be too mad, Iris, Black Kyurem can definitely handle this, and really, we don’t *need* to do anything,” Iris glares and holds out her hand, tapping a foot impatiently, “I mean, these Pokémon have existed, like, forever, so it’s not an APOCALyptic…” N hands his Xtransceiver over, Iris copies the number, mouths ‘thank you!’ while calling it, then rides out on Archeops.

The Nurse standing in the corner coughs loudly, her two audino mirroring the motion for effect. N smiles slightly,

“Oh, yeah, there’s another exit over here, I don’t actually have any Pokémon who can fly.”

They exchange idle small talk on the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me three months of solid work, and it's still totally half-baked. Well, except for the scene where they melt through a mountain.


	5. Giratina Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giratina has avoided this subject long enough. It's time for the ultimate confrontation

Giratina allows a breeze to pass through the air, gently moving the colourful awnings of the modern, stylized café Darkrai and it are sitting in front of. Darkrai is taking tiny bites out of a scone while staring off into the middle distance, and Giratina has just managed to lay out on seven chairs in a reasonably comfortable manner. The serene shadow Pokémon gives a non-judgemental look, then continues working on its scone.

“So what are your plans to appease the creator?”

Giratina shrugs off the chairs and smacks into the ground, letting all the air out of it in one long huff. Darkrai purses its lips at the noise,

“You have to face them some day.” Giratina flops over and looks anywhere else, “So why not now?”

It curls into a rough c-shape and points one massive eye at Darkrai, “If only to stop you from mentioning it every few seconds.” Its jaw widens oddly,

Darkrai tilts its head, “That’s a mean exaggeration, I only mentioned it once or twice a week.”

Giratina giggles as it floats up, “We have been here for barely more than two hours.” Darkrai nearly drops its scone, “I can distort far more than just space.”

Darkrai nods, and stands up on the chair, lengthening its stiff legs as it glides to the pavement, “Then we have much preparation to undergo! The creator will want more than just words from you, they will want…”

“Worry not. My might, wit, and power shall prove to Arceus…”

“Yoooou RANG?!?”

Arceus pops into existence right before Giratina, their excitement to interrupt its boasts preluding the usual pomp and fanfare that accompany its visits. Its ear-piercing voice quivers with energy, eyes and face jerking every which way,

“Hehehe, do I have the BEST apology obstacle course for you!” A golden, glistening gate, covered in uncovered cherubs of various species emerges from the aether, hundreds of feet tall and fully visible from the café’s terrace, “Just step inside and you’ll have fully apologized in no time! At all!”

Giratina cowers on the opposite side of the café, Darkrai is fully starstruck, totally immobile, and Arceus hops impatiently in midair.

“Oh, did you not like my phrasing? I meant ‘float’, inside, right?” They look for and find no enthusiasm in Darkrai, “Fine, I’ll go back and change it

 

\--

 

Giratina allows a breeze to pass through the air, gently moving the colourful awnings of the modern, stylized café Darkrai and it are sitting in front of. Darkrai is taking tiny bites out of a scone while staring off into the middle distance, and Giratina has just managed to lay out on seven chairs in a reasonably comfortable manner. The serene shadow Pokémon gives a non-judgemental look, then continues working on its scone.

“So what are your plans to appease the creator?”

Giratina shrugs off the chairs and smacks into the ground, letting all the air out of it in one long huff. Darkrai purses its lips at the noise,

“You have to face them some day.” Giratina flops over and looks anywhere else, “So why not now?”

It curls into a rough c-shape and points one massive eye at Darkrai, “If only to stop you from mentioning it every few seconds.” Its jaw widens oddly,

Darkrai tilts its head, “That’s a mean exaggeration, I only mentioned it once or twice a week.”

Giratina giggles as it floats up, “We have been here for barely more than two hours.” Darkrai nearly drops its scone, “I can distort far more than just space.”

Darkrai nods, and stands up on the chair, lengthening its stiff legs as it glides to the pavement, “Then we have much preparation to undergo! The creator will want more than just words from you, they will want…”

“Worry not. My might, wit, and power shall prove to Arceus…”

“Yoooou RANG?!?”

Arceus pops into existence right before Giratina, their excitement to interrupt its boasts preluding the usual pomp and fanfare that accompany its visits. Its ear-piercing voice quivers with energy, eyes and face jerking every which way,

“Hehehe, do I have the BEST apology obstacle course for you!” A golden, glistening gate, covered in uncovered cherubs of various species emerges from the aether, hundreds of feet tall and fully visible from the café’s terrace, “Just sit there as I drag you inside for a MANDATORY apology! In *literally* zero time, I might add.”

Giratina gazes helplessly at a paralyzed Darkrai as an impossible force drags it and Arceus towards the distant, hyper-extravagant gate. Arceus tucks a hoof in cheekily, posing next to Giratina’s slightly less runway-ready limp worm impression, and the two vanish from sight; the gold gate and extremely confused Pokémon whirl into a tiny pinprick of light.

Darkrai gulps, stoically nods at its liege’s fate, and decides to entertain itself with a nap once it’s found a suitable odd groan right next to it? Darkrai gazes pityingly at the sorry state of Giratina. It’s covered in papier-mâché of a bewildering variety of colours, a clay hat, many different sizes of gummy bears, and soft metal plates appear to be welded to any previously-pointy surface, including its jaw. Darkrai pokes one of them, eliciting an angry groan from Giratina.

“I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out well,” Darkrai begins removing papier-mâché and idly eating the gummy bears, “but there’s always a next time. Perhaps in a few hundred years… Why do these gummy bears taste like raw meat?”

A knocking sound rings out from mid-air, and a thick, oaken door slides out onto the ground, complete with peephole, multiple locks, and an envelope slot. Giratina covers itself in the nearby metal chairs, whipping its tentacles about, but unwilling to move itself an inch. A knock comes from the door again, so Darkrai floats over, extruding its legs to look through the peephole. It nods, then unlocks the door as slowly as the Pokémon on the other side will allow. The door slides open with nary a creak.

“Welcome, step right in.”

“I thank you ever so much, Darkrai. How polite of you.” Dialga takes its time walking through, stepping ponderously over to a wrought-iron table, then crosses its legs atop to glower over Giratina even more effectively. The door shuts itself silently, so Darkrai instead fidgets with its sleeves.

“Would you like some tea or coffee, Dialga?”

“Plain green tea. Thank you.” Dialga nods and Darkrai floats off into the café. “Giratina, you have great skill in the art of square dancing. You and Arceus made a cute couple.” Dialga makes certain to speak just loud enough that Darkrai can comfortably hear, and smiles broadly at a bright red flash from underneath the pile of chairs. A mumble comes from beneath,

“oh yeah while you and palkia looked ridiculous too…” it flashes red, “Actually, why did you and Palkia never swap partners?” Giratina’s neck cranes out, still adorned with a chair, “I was twirling around Mespirit, Azelf, Cresselia and Uxie all night, but you two, “ it imitates a gentle sigh, “ah, just couldn’t get enough of each other!”

Dialga holds a foot over its blue-flashing chest, and its eyes just happen to be facing a different direction. Giratina returns to its chair-fort.

“I greatly enjoyed your piñata impersonation, delivering pain onto you at last was a great pleasure.”

It returns to a more regal position, leering over at Giratina, who lets out a dry laugh.

“What pain? I used Shadow Force the whole time.” its head snakes out again, “Did you think my bones were made of candy?”

Dialga tries not to glance at the spellbound Darkrai, and considerably lowers its voice.

“Did you think you could embarrass me with your silver tongue?”

A microphone warps out of the wrought-iron, a cord swiftly following all the way to a tiny speaker in the café. Giratina giggles at Dialga’s flashing gem, “Only since you apparently have a leaden one.”

“Then I shall settle this without words.”

Dialga lets out a Roar of Time, instantly shredding the surrounding terrace into nothingness. Giratina unfurls, and shows its re-sharpened spines with a red flash. Darkrai retreats to a faraway observation point.

They circle each other, Dialga upright and stoic, Giratina fluid and cocky, then unleash their full powers simultaneously. The air warps, Dialga brings back bits and pieces of the terrace to shield it, but Giratina turns them into spears. Just as it moves space, an ancient Quetzalcoatlus appears from behind, and opens its massive jaw to swallow Giratina whole, forcing a looping dive. Dialga floats up, searching through the distortion world’s timeline for more beasts and traps, but Giratina’s realm begins to distort and block them off. They make eye contact, the dinosaur flaps betwixt them, and rocky spears revert back to cobble terrace one by one, so Dialga begins sending Flash Cannonballs to help the creature. Giratina responds in kind, shunting the Quetzalcoatlus off with a sudden thermal updraft, then disappears from view. As space shivers and breaks in an aerial pattern approaching Dialga, it readies a Metal Burst, glancing forward in time, but spies no trace of Giratina. Dialga narrows its eyes, twirls about, then the universe inverts. Everything is inside Dialga, and Dialga is the distortion world. Its eyes spread across countless galaxies, taking in so much at once its rapidly growing brain aches and thrums, then Giratina strikes, pulling the compressed universe into a black hole and shifting out of phase just as it reverts to its original state. Dialga freezes in place, Giratina wastes no time striking it with its full Shadow Force, rocketing the temporal Pokémon through several sizable boulders. It spins around for another attack, snaking around with malice in its eyes, it turns around, snakes around the boulders, red glowering after Dialga, it performs a loop-de-loop, twists about the boulders while leering after its quarry,

“You have proven,” Dialga floats over to Giratina, who turns around, navigates the floating boulders with purpose, “Giratina.” it flips over, spins through rocks, and “GIRATINA,” stops,

Giratina blinks several times. “Time loop?”

“Correct.” Dialga stiffens out, stretches its fan wing and neck, “As I was saying,” its gem settles into a pale, calming blue, “You are indeed strong. I apologize for my rashness. Arceus has given you full control of your powers again.”

“Haha, yeah, I already knew that, “ Giratina does a relaxed flip before pausing and spasming its head back towards Dialga, “Did you just say that I get my powers back?”

“Yes.”

Giratina stares off into space, totally paused. Dialga begins to revert the damage from their battle, the Quetzalcoatlus disappearing back into extinction, and café slowly reforming. As wrought-iron chairs settle underneath them, Dialga takes its place and nudges Giratina towards the ground with telekinesis. The mild breeze and dim streetlamps cast shifting, but not menacing shadows across the terrace, and one in particular floats towards Dialga with a platter.

“My tea, I take it?”

“It didn’t even have time to get cold.”

Darkrai’s eyes flit up and down Dialga, no table or hands ready for a teacup, “Thank you.” so it levitates the beverage up to its sizable jaw instead. Just as Dialga takes a microscopic sip, the terrace explodes into sand. Giratina spreads like syrup across the sky, exerting more control the more its own body distorts, and the sand quickly coalesces into a perfectly flat plane. Storm clouds form a ring around it, invisible ions whirling wildly into place as lightning begins to strike in an even fashion, arcing over or under to fuse together each sand particle individually, allowing no room for error even as the process sparks faster. The lightning’s continuous striking forms a massive glowing ring of yellow light, spinning and twirling into their ultimate positions for the near-transparent disk of glass in the center. Giratina reforms, but its twisting tentacles direct the action of each molecule still, weaving and bobbing until the clouds are moving to fast for anyone but Arceus to comprehend, and dissipate just as fast.

A massive, city-sized mirror lies before them, nearly insects before the magnitude of Giratina’s creation. Pillars of magical energy form to steady it, even the slightest breeze could shatter a molecule-thin pane of glass. Darkrai and Dialga put Giratina between them and the mirror, and the Renegade Pokémon leers across the entirety of the old world. Thousands of scenes rush before them, Dialga but glances at especially intriguing scenes while Darkrai drinks it all in, enjoying just the variety of life, but Giratina glares harder and harder, nearly pressing its face against the glass. At last, the colours cease swirling, and just millimeters in front of its nose, it spies its target exactly. Giratina slithers through the mirror.

 

\--

 

“So…”

“Speak, Darkrai.”

“Could you, uh, take me back to full moon island?”

“Of course.”

Dialga’s portal opens to a twin-peaked mountain, lush with vegetation and alien Pokémon, “Uh, could you skip a few… thousand years into the future?”

Dialga turns its head, but flicks the portal off and on again, displaying an identical mountain.

“Maybe a few more thousand years?”

“Tell me what majour events took place during the time period you want.”

“Oh, that’s easy, you nearly destroyed the universe!”

Dialga lets out a stiff chortle, “As you wish.”

Darkrai waves farewell, and Dialga stays behind to finish its tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA i swear this whole series is just a bunch of excuses to get legendaries into fights with eachother. I'm nearly sorry this took so long, but even this update is like half a centimeter long and i shoulda written waaaaay more than i did. :P


	6. Rayquaza and Giratina Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayquaza knows what it must do

‘FOOL. I SHOULD’VE KNOWN BETTER’, Rayquaza snakes through the trees, altering the wind as it passes to stop the treetops from shaking. Several Deerling and Sawsbuck sprint away, leaving a stunned Gligar and an Amoonguss hiding behind twisted roots. It glares all around, and dives through the treeline into a shallow waterfall, smashing its face into a rock wall and blasting water in every direction. It looks around, and thanks Arceus that the human’s route is much further down. It nearly screams in frustration at its current predicament, clenching its teeth tightly together as the water smashing over its head does naught to calm it. ‘IF I COULD BUT RETURN TO THE SKIES. OR BRING THE SKIES TO ME.’ It exerts power, and fire seeps from its mouth to evaporate the waterfall. Steam turns to fog, and soon a thick fog spreads through the forest. It lets out a happy croak, carrying water with its fins to twirl across the treetops, and disturbs far less Pokémon than smashing through the trees. A tiny road through the mountain contains just trainers and campervans, a pleasant locale not ruined by fog, but Rayquaza knows that Zekrom will be searching for even the most subtle signs of its presence. It blasts out of the fog, and unfortunately not close enough to the eastern Unovan river. A small village built partially onto an old stone bridge lies before it, along with dozens of barely-awake humans. It drops down into the river and bolts downstream just as the banks receive a miniature tidal wave, spinning around the Carvanha, Basculin, and anything else too slow or stunned to get out of its way. Water forms a cylinder behind it, increasing in length as it accelerates, and ripples form across the water’s surface, disturbing a Lapras and small fishing vessels. No Pokémon is foolish enough to pick a fight, and instead Rayquaza takes a relaxing swim downstream. Eventually the banks turn to sheer cliffs, and the river picks up its pace, hurtling Rayquaza across rocks and into open rapids. It cringes as rocks crash against its fins, but stays mostly underwater, diving and flying until the river reaches further down and across than any other point, and it is here that humans decided to build another bridge. It flops onto its back to watch the polished steel, unnecessary lights, and delicate architecture float by. Just a little ways away is its object, the Unova region’s previously vast desert. Even this area, far away from Nimbasa or Castelia city, has a small area cordoned off for beach-goers, blue-and-white plastic beads marking its limits. Rayquaza slips under the floaters and hovers just above the beach, noting the growth of water plants and vines draped over a small hut to the side.

A chain-link fence separates the beach from a similarly overgrown dirt road. In fact, the entire place is bereft of human or Pokémon habitation. Rayquaza glides down to the hut, noting that a few signs survived. Their text is banal, noting what foods are for sale and when the swim club’s meet was. ‘CARELESSLY ABANDONED. BUT POKÉMON HAVE ABANDONED IT AS WELL.’

It bursts off to explore the sand dunes and rocky crags, head filled with thoughts. Each time it nears a dune, it bursts through it, scattering sand in every direction, and delighting in the feeling. Its scales brush a cliffside, and it nearly lets out a happy roar when a drizzle of sand comes tumbling down. ‘MY GOAL IS STILL OUT THERE.’ Rayquaza huffs, and twists itself to prepare crossing the river of humanity that divides the two halves of desert. Once it is spotted, it will have little time before news gets around. It loops around, spinning up a dust tornado, then blasting across the desert. The wind roars around it, dodging and weaving across the craggy desert and over a slight hill, then a full city, and spins into a stop in a much more populated desert. Pokémon and people frolic among the hills, all staring up at the cessation of the most recent sandstorm. Rayquaza hovers above what little remains of a once-mighty castle, and the tiny river most adjacent to it. ‘A CASTLE IN A DRIED LAKE.’ It carefully slips through the entrance, noting the lack of any new human markings, an odd amount of respect, considering. The ruins are lit by temporary flood lamps, with a few researchers and Pokémon trainers within to cower at Rayquaza’s presence. The sandstone walls are even allowed to naturally collapse, noting the small holes where sand is seeping through as it eases itself through the next staircase. The next staircase is covered in sand. Even with how careful Rayquaza has been so far, its brute force is a reliable fallback. Rayquaza grins widely, dives into the sand, then shifts the pressure of the air around it to blast the sand outward. It shoots the sand out until it finds a wall, then forms a bubble of air around itself, filling and emptying it as it moves. It easily finds the next staircase, and continues through the decrepit ruins, lit only by Rayquaza’s own flame. The sand pressure begins to build on Rayquaza’s bubble, and its Air Lock finally has a challenge. Deeper and deeper, smaller and smaller, Rayquaza repeatedly concentrates all it has on atmospheric manipulation, but each time it gives less. It huffs at the thought of being covered in sedimentary rock, each layer heavier and harder than the last, but it will not have that today. It crawls with all its might down a stairwell, sand occasionally falling through, and each step a riotous accomplishment. The steps end, leaving Rayquaza at a rough stone floor which seems to lead on for miles under the crushing pressure. Its entire body is curled into a tiny space, and its fins are either pressed flat to its body or scraping against rock. One more inch further, one more stone brick behind it, and Rayquaza considers how easily it could’ve merely rent the desert in two to reveal the legendary pokémon within. The sand parts easily. A corridor, lit with not human or lights of its own making is revealed, a ghostly glow from slumbering Cofagrigus and a powerful light from a distant flame. The simple, ancient pillars, beige walls and pottery show a room that has not been cared for in a long while. Rayquaza follows the light, and as it flies, it notices the walls, pillars, and ornaments become more and more ornate. In just the next room, a simple sketch of the sun, fire, and tiny plants. In the next, each pot has a repeated fire pattern, and the columns have long vines bearing fruit for abstract pokémon. The light is enough to illuminate even the tiniest cracks, easily overpowering the Cofagrigus and casting huge shadows from every pot. Finally, Rayquaza sees her, at the end of a long hallway. 

Volcarona.

It levitates over, cautiously taking in the large moth. She shines as bright as Groudon, no, brighter, and her compound eyes burn with as much intensity as they have lenses. She buzzes with life and energy, not befitting the ruin of her castle, but more than befitting the murals splayed all around her. They show her providing light for the world when the sun was hidden by ash, an ancient world before modern creations, when humankind was still one with Pokémon. Rayquaza gazes more intently, then speaks as softly as it can.

“YOU ARE KNOWN AS VOLCARONA.”

Her harsh buzzing coalesces into audible sound, “CORRECT. WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS HERE.”

Rayquaza smiles, finally among his own, ancient kind, “YOU INVADED MY TERRITORY. THAT IS A GRAVE PRICE YOU MUST PAY.” It gazes again at Volcarona, her form, colour, and size so totally disparate to that of the creature Rayquaza has seen only twice, taunting it from beyond a mirror. “NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO CONCEAL YOUR FORM.”

Volcarona flaps once to gain altitude, bending and leering at Rayquaza, “YOU ARE WRONG ON TWO FRONTS,” her harsh buzzing increases in pitch and speed, “I CANNOT CONCEAL MY FORM AND I DID NOT INVADE YOUR TERRITORY,” and she begins to release scales in a beautiful Quiver Dance, “BUT IF YOU DESIRE A FIGHT I WILL DELIVER.”

Rayquaza stops smiling, glaring around and physically raking its own head to remember. It floats upside-down, “THEN YOU ARE NOT THE ONE I SEEK.” grates its teeth, and notices something shimmering in Volcarona’s scales. She notices his gaze, and flits about, scattering scales until a fine film floats in the air, and Rayquaza flies over in a rush.

 

\--

 

Giratina decides to never give itself compound eyes. No matter their benefits, they are not worth the trouble of such a scattered perspective. It sees bits and pieces of the room, very occasionally glimpsing its object, and more commonly glimpsing a powerful Volcarona. Then, the two seem to cooperate, not attacking, but forming a mirror on their own accord, a shimmering curtain of light, and Giratina takes the first opportunity to emerge.

 

\--

 

A sickly black spreads from the scales, absorbing all light shot towards it, and two mad pinpricks of red light are seen where Volcarona’s scales once were. The black pools around the columns and pots, and Rayquaza leans back, Volcarona at its side. A golden claw forms as the pure black coalesces, then another five feet to the side. As a trunk-like leg forms, the remaining four clawed feet reform behind, and a dingy, grey body takes in the rapidly shrinking darkness atop all six legs. Black and red stripes flit down its belly and into a thick tail, then up into a tree-trunk of an upper torso, golden bindings like a swollen ribcage with only six ribs. The head forms, a flat, angular golden helmet with two pinpricks of malevolent red light, and the last of the darkness flairs out behind into cloudy, infinitely black wings with six spikes. It lets out a physically painful cry, a screech as high of pitch as it is out of tune, long and dry.

Volcarona picks up another quiver dance, and Rayquaza fires a molten Hyper Beam, carving through the air with a huge thrum. The beam passes through the rapidly advancing Giratina, instead melting the far wall, and earning Rayquaza a razor-sharp swipe from Giratina’s wings. It rends Rayquaza again, lunging its body past Rayquaza’s to let its cruel, red claws smash into the damaged green scales. Volcarona releases a Heat Wave, a superheated wind directly in front of Giratina, but the Renegade Pokémon just takes a step onto Rayquaza’s limp form and slashes again, smacking Volcarona through a wall with an eruption of ancient dust. Her light flickers, and sand begins pouring from the ceiling. Giratina smashes the last of the life out of Volcarona with Earth Power erupting from the ancient stone, and carefully drapes Rayquaza over its body. It secures the dragon, then marches back through the disintegrating ruin to its remaining portal.

 

\--

 

Volcarona comes to, to darkness and pain, but that Pain is almost immediately Split, and the dozens of Cofagrigus holding the portal open, and holding off the castle’s collapse take it into themselves. As she regains strength, they quake, and weaken, smiling even as they are covered in sand forever.

“Hurry.”

She bolts for the portal

“THANK YOU.”

“You saved us. You saved everyone.” She pauses a moment, hovering just above the portal, “You are worth this and so much more.”

“I WILL NOT FAIL.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this whole thing in five hours. just one day. I'M BACK!!!
> 
> (also did you know that both power split and guard split are on cofagrigus' level up movepool but pain split isn't? its jsut  
> not right... my explanation is that they're ancient people so like *maybe* they'd take some special training????, espec. to help volcarona  
> which btw made me cry holy gosh i just got that,,,, all those Cofagrigus and Yamask are there out of gratitude for Volcarona.)


	7. Giratina and Rayquaza Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trapped in the distortion world, Rayquaza and Volcarona join forces to contend with a dangerous foe: the recently freed Giratina.

Giratina smashes its head into a wall again. ‘Idiot. IDIOT. WHY did you assault Rayquaza?!’ It turns around and drags its tail through a bed of diamond-tipped spikes, ‘My only desire for a solid week!’ It stops and stares into a wall. ‘I have gone to so much trouble over so little. I’ll just cut my losses and kick that serpent out of here.’ The spiny, crystal field Giratina chose to mope in conceals Rayquaza well, in fact, in its rush, it completely lost the wretched green lizard. Among the fields of long, spiky crystals are huge rock pillars that support a ceiling of pointed rocks, and cavernous pits full of stone thorns which lead further within the cave. Giratina growls and begins flying slowly, nearly colliding with an outcropping hanging from the ceiling. It tries to shatter a few spikes with its dark tendrils, but only ends up with cuts for its trouble.

 

\--

 

Volcarona falls through the rest of the portal, quickly losing control of her wings in the thin air. A spiny, crystalline mass approaches from what the dazed Volcarona assumes is ahead. She blasts fire to adjust her trajectory, and clears the obstacle, but begins falling towards a spiny cave mouth. She glides too quickly, losing the thicker patches of air and her breath every alternate flap, but manages to stay away from the diamond-tipped walls. Each narrow tunnel is a field of knives, and black spots begin dancing across her vision. The crystals seem to dance, a combination of Volcarona’s fire and oxygen deprivation, but the air seems to be distributed in patterns. Along a tunnel, at two intersections, the air is slightly thicker. Volcarona takes short, panicked breaths and jets down one, and into a kaleidoscope of light. She just stops, reflexively adjusting to the walls, and tries to clear her eyes. It’s a multitude of paths, but she can’t remember where she came from. After the third time she nearly impales herself on a spike by nodding off, she concentrates on feeling the air, and sure enough, there’s a puny breeze coming from one of the tunnels. Another set of careful adjustments, and she takes in a huge breath of oxygen-rich air. The crystals stop dancing, and she can fly just as she could on the old world.

She takes a minute to appreciate the beauty of the deadly spikes around her, in a nearly endless variety of colours and shapes, albeit all spiky, sharp, and distorted. The tunnel continues in a similar fashion, each corner and bend an absolute obstacle course to navigate. Eventually, it opens into a large cavern, nearly free of spikes except for the entrance. In the center lies Rayquaza, its length curling around the cavern somewhat, unconscious, but otherwise undamaged. It looks nearly peaceful, sleeping with its jaw up on a rock. Volcarona alights on a rock opposite Rayquaza’s head, eager to rest her wings. The air in this cavern is the cleanest, thickest, and best circulated anywhere else in the cave, so Volcarona thanks her mortal lungs for inadvertently bringing her to her object.

Volcarona buzzes loudly, which after nearly a minute of its harsh noise, rouses Rayquaza.

“IT IS A NOT UNPLEASANT SURPRISE TO SEE YOU HERE” Rayquaza coils up into the air, and bows with its head before Volcarona, “I THANK YOU FOR WAKING ME.”

“It is quite literally of no consequence compared to the situation around us. Do you know of any way we could evacuate these premises?”

Rayquaza gives a blank expression, briefly gazing around the cave, “NO. THAT IS A MYSTERY WE HAVE YET TO SOLVE.”

Volcarona slowly begins to hover again, “I require the atmosphere you produce to stay alive, so we must stick together for now.”

Rayquaza holds its mouth open, and twists in the air, “I SHALL PROTECT YOU EVEN IN THIS TWISTED AND INCONGRUOUS PLACE.”

Volcarona shrinks away from Rayquaza’s sheer volume, “Must you shout every word that leaves your mind?”

Rayquaza turns its head upside-down and floats towards the exit, “I AM NOT ONE TO USE EXCESSIVE VOLUME. SHOUTING IS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.”

As Rayquaza disappears around the bend, Volcarona laughs to herself. The tunnel is oddly free of spikes, in all directions, and the walls are smooth and just as pretty as they were previously. Rayquaza is clearly admiring its reflection in the dappled crystals, so Volcarona sends a burst of glittery scales after it. Rayquaza smiles back at her, floating backwards for a few feet,

“YOU WOULD BE A GREAT BOON FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER.”

“You know what photography is?”

They arrive at a looping, confusing intersection, and Rayquaza takes its time to decide which direction they proceed.

“I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE CONCEPT.” Rayquaza pokes its head down each of the passages, “I SEE ALL THAT COMES TO PASS BELOW ME.”

Volcarona briefly arrests her dignified hover, readjusting her tiny legs, “Everything? Do you spend all your time gazing at the ground below you?”

“NO. I GAZE ONLY AT WHAT IS INTRIGUING.”

“How far back do you remember?”

“MY MEMORY IS AS OLD AS THE EARTH.”

Volcarona slows down marginally, buzzing more intently. She announces, “So where were you when ash coated the sky, and all were threatened with extinction?” When Rayquaza pauses, stiffening as fast as an electric shock, she continues, “You are our protector, are you not?”

Rayquaza spins slowly in the confined space, scratching the walls with its fins, and its head emerges with half-lidded eyes. It lets out a breath, and its booming voice seems to reverberate less than usual,

“AYE. THAT EVENT WAS MOST TRAGIC BUT YOU MISREMEMBER THE DETAILS.”

Volcarona twitches her antennae, “That does not excuse-”

“I AM THE PROTECTOR OF THE SKY AND BALANCE TO KYOGRE AND GROUDON. IF I HAD INTERFERED WITH GROUDON’S DESIGN KYOGRE WOULD RETURN WITH A DESIGN TWICE AS BOLD.”

Volcarona nods, “A convenient excuse, is it not?”

Rayquaza scratches the walls with its tail, and its eyes narrow further, “I AGREE THERE IS NO EXCUSE WORTH THAT MANY LIVES.” It bows down with another massive sigh, “YOU WERE THE SAVIOUR OF THE UNOVA REGION.”

It spins back in place, its head disappearing past its body in the corridor. Volcarona buzzes in place for a thoughtful minute, then follows as it heads further down.

“Even the gods have limits placed upon them.”

A wind picks up, and Rayquaza floats faster, angling itself so that it can just peer at her with one eye, and screeches happily, “YOU WERE TESTING ME THEN.” Rayquaza looks over Volcarona with a strange intensity, “ARE YOU NOT IMMORTAL?”

They enter a larger cavern with a few crystal spikes in the distance, and Volcarona floats next to Rayquaza as it swivels about. She whispers,

“Do you see those spikes over there?”

“YES.” Rayquaza swivels its head with extreme intensity.

“Until I got to you, they were covering every wall and surface in this maze.” Volcarona motions with one of its legs, but Rayquaza is already floating over. Sure enough, the spikes meld back into the wall as quickly as Rayquaza approaches. It keeps going anyway, and begins clawing at the wall where the spike disappeared. Volcarona flaps a little slower, then notices that there isn’t any gravity. She doesn’t need to flap at all. She relaxes, gazing about the twisting, beautiful cavern with less urgency to exit, perhaps this experience isn’t so bad after all. Her own light provides a shimmering tapestry of colours and,

“VOLCARONA. STOP!” Rayquaza shouts, Volcarona hovers as best she can, and returns to lucidity. She’s far from where she stopped hovering, and slowly rotates, spotting the crystal spike that was mere centimeters from her back. A burst of wind rushes through the air as Rayquaza dashes over to her, spikes receding as it does so. Rayquaza roars at the wall.

“There is more to this place than it seems.”

Rayquaza nods viciously, “YES AND THE AIR IS BAD AND OBEYS ONE WHO IS NOT ME.”

“The spikes seem to be affected by you.”

Rayquaza leads Volcarona further into the cavern, spikes retreat and extend as it moves, and it growls, “BUT THEY DO NOT OBEY MY WISHES ENOUGH.”

Volcarona is hovering right next to Rayquaza, staying as close as she can without colliding with its fins, and it obliges by flying less erratically than usual. She asks,

“So you can sense that someone else is controlling the air?”

Rayquaza shakes its head, “NO.”

She pauses for a moment to stare at it, “Did you not say that someone else is controlling the air?”

It flips its head upside-down as they continue floating, the cavern long since warped into a spiralling tunnel, “YES BUT I KNOW NOT OF THEIR IDENTITY. IT COULD BE ONE OR A MYRIAD OF CREATURES OR NO CREATURE AT ALL.”

Volcarona idly flicks embers from its wings in annoyance. Acquiring information from Rayquaza is like pulling teeth. She begins again,

“Have you ever seen the creature that abducted you before?”

“WHAT CREATURE DO YOU SPEAK OF?”

“The black, tentacled creature that defeated us.”

She jumps back at Rayquaza’s growl, like the sound of rocks scraping against a ship’s hull, and Rayquaza roars, “A TERRIBLE INTERLOPER AND INVADER OF THE SKY. IT HAS BEEN MY MISSION FOR NIGH ON TWO DAYS TO DEFEAT IT.”

Volcarona glares at Rayquaza, nearly snaps at it, but sighs instead.

“Have you discovered its name in those… two days?”

Rayquaza flicks the end of its tail away from Volcarona, “NO. NAMES ARE NOT NECESSARY TO PROVE ONE’S GUILT.”

“To summarize our knowledge thus far, we know nearly nothing about our enemy, we don’t know where we are, and we don’t know how to leave.”

Rayquaza is silent. It stares right ahead and starts spinning slowly. Volcarona flaps slowly, just enough to keep pace. Time passes in silence as the tunnel gets slightly trickier, but soon widens out. Rayquaza stops and launches a Hyper Beam at the wall half-heartedly, but the scorch marks don’t last for more than a few seconds. Volcarona buzzes softly,

“Well, I for one will never forget this once we get out of here.”

It nods silently in response, and they drift slowly to the far end of large cavern, so big that the tunnel behind them is coated in spikes. They nearly don’t notice at first, but there aren’t any other passages from here.

Rayquaza smiles toothily, “WE SHALL RACE BACK TO AN INTERSECTION.” Then it coils itself against the smooth wall like a spring. Volcarona chortles and hovers back to the wall, leaning over slightly to pretend she’s launching off it. Before either of them can begin counting off, a blood-curdling screech pours out from the maze like dripping honey, coming out in clumps and bursts of distorted sound. Rayquaza narrows its eyes and nods towards Volcarona, and the pair flies off. They bank around the first turn, and an odd black liquid floats along the walls. Rayquaza takes a second to Fire Blast it, but Volcarona uses a blast of fire to whip around the next corner and into a half-spiky corridor with more of the liquid floating weightlessly, and a black, gold and red wyrm slithering away. 

Volcarona lets out a sickening buzz, “OUR PREY RETREATS, RAYQUAZA!” and blasts after it, Rayquaza trailing just behind her. The wyrm dives down with such recklessness that it scrapes another trail of black liquid off, and Volcarona catches up, preparing a swirling blast of wind. The wyrm disappears before it can strike, and she takes the chance to concentrate, and performs an ancient Quiver Dance while Rayquaza catches up. It roars ferociously, and the black monster re-appears further down the corridor, snaking through the diamond spikes. Rayquaza seems to flash in place, and dashes with Extreme Speed, flashing past Volcarona. The spikes appear and retreat as quickly as it moves, so Volcarona makes good time out of the corridor.

Rayquaza is staring down the injured, but ferociously glaring wyrm at the other end of the large cavern. Distant spikes move and shift as Rayquaza feints to the left and right, but when Volcarona begins to add her flame to the mix, the violent wyrm spits out words with liquid malevolence,

“So you cannot even fight me alone, Rayquaza.” It extends six long tendrils of darkness from its back, “Since when has hiding been YOUR style?” It spits out some black liquid.

Volcarona whispers, ‘It’s a bluff!’ and shifts closer to Rayquaza, but it shouts triumphantly,

“YOU HAVE BEEN WEAKENED BY THIS PLACE.” Rayquaza ducks its head down and slithers forward, “AND WE HAVE NOT.”

The wyrm’s eyes flash, “I am STILL GIRATINA, ruler of the DISTORTION WORLD!”, darkness spreads throughout the room, “AND I CONTROL everything HERE!” Giratina’s black energy seeps into the walls, and the diamond spikes extend further than before, and closer to Rayquaza and Volcarona, but stop ten feet before making contact with it. On the other side of the room, Giratina has nearly punctured itself with five different spikes, and two in particular have pinned it in place. It hides its face, shakes up and down its body, and lets out a tearful moan. Rayquaza rakes its hands down its face and backs up, Volcarona advances as another wave of dark energy is released in spurts and starts until the walls of the room fade out, and only a field of spines is left.

The maze turns into a minefield of huge, crystal spines floating in the void as chunks and walls of the sharpest rocks imaginable. Only Rayquaza is safe, with not even the most aggressive spines approaching it, and Giratina seems to adjust them awkwardly at its whims. Volcarona feels peaceful, and realizes what must be happening to her, but just spectating is so easy. Giratina’s words dribble out with pure malevolence,

“Oh, destroying you doesn’t have to be PURELY physical.” Rayquaza smiles oddly, Giratina advances, sizing up its foe, “You can’t protect that puny Volcarona forever.”

Rayquaza whips out its tail and wraps it around Volcarona, pulling her away from the mass of crystal. Giratina gapes at the physical contact and hisses, Rayquaza shouts,

“YOU SPEAK LIES WELL.”

Giratina disappears, Rayquaza flits about, shouts, “HANG ON OR YOU MAY PERISH.” Volcarona grips its tail, and Giratina re-appears, its six red spines tearing through reality right next to the pair. She blasts it with a Hurricane force wind, spinning Giratina off towards a spiny wall, but it banks with all of its might, just barely avoiding a scrape when the entire wall disappears. Rayquaza swings its whole body, and, using Volcarona as a wrecking ball, smacks Giratina into another ball of spiny crystals. It fires an Aura Sphere, but scrapes along the sharp crystal, and it dissipates. Volcarona launches more wind, Rayquaza closes in, but Giratina twists the whole situation, disappearing from sight. The masses of crystal change in size, some extending far beyond the participants’ sight, some turning microscopic. Giratina lunges while Volcarona and Rayquaza take stock, and slices past both of them with a Dragon Claw. Rayquaza tries to grab its tail, and Volcarona reflexively blasts them both with fire, producing a wide heat shimmer. Giratina, bleeding and more upset than ever, spins above Rayquaza’s arms, and opens a portal right above the pair, slipping back to the old world.

Rayquaza and Volcarona sit tensed for several seconds before Volcarona speaks,

“It’s gone. That last, disappearing act, was different than the other times it tries that.”

They both take a deep breath, Rayquaza anxiously waggles its tail, “IT IS A WORTHY, POWERFUL FOE BUT WE MUST REST.”

“I agree.” Volcarona does a loose, undignified flip, “But what could we possibly eat here?”

As if on cue, the spiny forest of crystals dissipate, and far beyond, they can see regular shapes. Twisted houses, living forests with impossible plants, and water flowing with the assistance of gravity, albeit varying and unique gravity. Rayquaza speaks as softly as it can,

“IN THIS TWISTED WORLD WE MUST REMAIN ALWAYS ON OUR GUARD.” It coils up, head glaring in every direction, “THAT DEVIOUS CREATURE MAY HAVE LEFT TRAPS THROUGHOUT ITS REALM.”

Volcarona nods solemnly, “I agree. There would be no easier way to defeat us. Let’s stick together and explore all we can.”

They proceed to the nearest floating set of rocks. Each inch forward is another opportunity to scour the situation, or be beset upon by any manner of attacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey did anyone want to see a scorned and impossibly jealous Giratina who was already kind of a miserable, sad jerk? Haha! Sorry!


	8. Giratina Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giratina is finally free to explore the Old World to its heart's desire. But what else does its heart desire? Nothing that it can admit to itself any more.

Giratina blinks. A lot. Blinding sun smashes into its eyes, along with sand, stupid sights and so, so many humans. It screeches with an ear-splitting sound to drive them off, and flops into the sand once they seem to have left. Giratina purposely swallows sand, then complains to itself about the gritty, awful texture.

“What did I stand to ‘grain’ from this.” It convulses at its own pun, “Sand sucks.”

Giratina begins digging into the sand to bury itself, perhaps sleeping for a few thousand years could do it some good. It manages to dig a conical, constantly refilling pit by just shuffling its legs, and gives up once all six of them are underground. It lays out across the flowing sand, and is almost immediately interrupted by a harsh screech,

“YOU! You even screech at those below you!” A grey dragon looms overhead, coated in unmelting ice, and with fury in it eyes, “What LITTLE you must’ve learned from invading Relic Castle!”

Giratina slithers into the sand more, and shouts, “What do you care? YOU’RE screeching at me.” It brings its head up to glare daggers at the scaled idiot holding their chin up from Giratina with maximum smugness, “And to defend humans, so far below me? You are a fool.”

The weird, disjointed dragon launches odd tubes into its shoulder, and begins to glow blue from within. They keeps their head turned away, but one of their arms is shaking. It shouts back at Giratina,

“It seems we must teach you this lesson again and again! Prepare for battle.” They glower down at their opponent, “You have forgotten all the sacrifices humans have made for you, despite associating with them for centuries.”

“What? I don’t!” Giratina begins to shake the sand off, emerging slowly, “Who are you, to shout at a deity?!”

“You need a reminder?! We are Kyurem-Black, the deity of ideals and…” They glare with greater intensity at the black figure emerging from the sand, “You are not Rayquaza. What are you?”

Giratina stands in the sand, darkness spreading out like a ballroom gown, glares at Kyurem-Black with red beams of light dripping from its eyes, and states, “ANGRY.”

It blasts into the air, preparing its six red spikes, but Kyurem-Black loops over its strike to blast out a Fusion Bolt. Giratina dives back into the sand and begins stirring it up with its wings, Kyurem-Black begins to chill the air around it when its lightning dissipates harmlessly. They dive, spikes of ice forming from their scales, but Giratina vanishes. They whip their head around wildly, peering through the sandstorm, when it steps out of phase and slices Kyurem-Black with its red spines. Kyurem erupts with a gigantic Blizzard, freezing the sand in place, and chasing a flying Giratina with a huge spike of ice. It stares down and taunts by waving its wings, but Kyurem-Black just launches howling gales of ice up at it. Giratina dives, weaving through the icy terrain and ducking when they launch their arms up, and just before Kyurem-Black can crash into them with a prepared Blizzard, it disappears again. They hop to the side, and prepare a fusion bolt to crash into the spot where they just stood, but Giratina cackles as it phases back in right where it left, and crashes into Kyurem-black with its most vicious Dragon Claw. They skid to the side as Giratina advances slowly, stomping into the ice with each purposeful step, its mandibles as far apart as they can be. Kyurem-Black gasps at their assailant,

“Who, or what are you?” They lower their head and nearly slip while retreating.

Giratina lets out an unearthly, wavering screech, its parody of a laugh, and shouts, “I am the one who watches all. I am the renegade, the betrayer of our creator. I am darkness and death.” Giratina closes its eyes and spreads its wings impossibly far, “You were a fool to challenge,”

Giratina stops, frozen in place with electrified ice. Kyurem-Black steps up to its form, vitality rapidly draining, and gives a thin smile. It mutters,

“You’re also very talkative.”

 

\--

 

“No, I’ve never heard of anything like this!” A green-haired boy paces in front of Giratina, still frozen, but drifting in and out of consciousness. Three dragons, white, grey, and black stand as sentinels, the grey one pacing nervously right next to Giratina’s glacier. The boy continues,

“I’m going to call Cynthia, she’ll know more.”

The black dragon speaks, “Thank you for your help. Return as soon as you can.” The boy leaves the cave, drawing a small black device as he does so.

Giratina growls, using all motion it has available to rattle against its bonds. The grey dragon puts its spiked, icy wings up to the block, and it grows thicker by the second. Giratina phases in and out rapidly, searching for any opening, but the grey dragon’s prison is thorough. It glares as the other two dragons mutter to each other several feet away, and turns its focus to the grey one. It barely gets its pained, screeching message across,

“If you let me out, I will not strike you.” The grey dragon examines Giratina lazily, long neck sweeping across its length, “You will be free of those two, and I will be in your debt.”

Giratina concentrates its might, and distorts the shadows of the nearly dome-shaped cave into gaping mouths and spikes. The grey dragon’s head jolts up, and it leaps atop its prison, both strengthening it and backing away from the black spines dripping from the walls. Giratina’s voice grows thin as the ice advances, but it squeaks out,

“My… power is over… whelming…”

Then it faints again.

 

\--

 

Giratina comes to with a burst of fire, and its black, red-rimmed claws slicing through its icy prison and that ugly grey dragon that made it. The other two scream,

“No! It’s free!”

“We can’t stop it!”

And stand in place as Giratina cackles, slicing them and the cave to pieces! It stomps and the boulders shatter, bringing the whole planet down with it! Giratina is mighty! Powerful! HAHAHAHA!

Giratina enjoys the carnage, forests burning, gravity shifting, and twists the dimensions at its whims. Each particle that burns brings this old world one step closer to true entropy, but somewhere, in that deep, swirling darkness, a light shines. No matter what effects Giratina produces on it, it continues to expand, spreading throughout Giratina’s dark realm, and a distinct figure emerges from it. Arceus stands tall and strong, and Giratina bares its mandibles as the heavenly, gracious voice booms out,

“IS THIS WHAT YOU TRULY WANT, GIRATINA?”

Giratina slices madly at it, settling down with a great huff as Arceus speaks again,

“THINK OF WHY YOU APOLOGIZED TO ME, AND WHAT YOU CAN STILL ACCOMPLISH.”

Giratina waves its wing one more time, hiding its face from the light, but Arceus’ light burns through, smashing into its face with sheer presence.

“NOW, WAKE UP.”

 

\--

 

Giratina’s eyes flash as much they can, and it smashes everything it has against its ice bonds. It roars as the grey dragon extends its power, then congeals an Aura Sphere, shattering the ice to pieces. It leaps atop the grey dragon, pinning it with its legs, and forces an Aura Sphere to remain in place directly above it, then shouts to the crowd of tensed Pokémon,

“Stay where you are or this dragon will suffer.”

The green-haired child has returned, along with a woman in a dark cloak, a Garchomp, a Spiritomb, several Absol, a Metagross, two Mamoswine, the black dragon, and the white dragon. Giratina lets out a soft, but horrid screech as it examines the defeated faces on the surrounding crowd. The two large dragons seem nearly overtaken with rage as they flare up and stomp angrily, but only the green-haired youth steps forward, hands up and speaks with calm, level tones,

“We agree to your terms! So you are Giratina?” The boy is shaking, and Giratina bares its teeth at that, “Why are you here? What do you want?”

Giratina spits out, “That’s none of your business.” It distorts the light in this cave, making shadows leap around and toward the boy, and starts dragging the grey dragon towards the entrance, Aura Sphere still held obviously aloft. “My business is with Rayquaza and no others.”

The black dragon growls, “What did you do with Rayquaza?!” and takes a few steps forward before the white dragon stops it. Every Pokémon looks just as tense as Giratina sizes them up. The Absol are ready to leap at a moment’s notice, Garchomp is already crouched like a runner, and the Spiritomb is ‘stealthily’ rolling towards it in rock form. Giratina spreads out its wings and drawls,

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Giratina stomps with one of its free legs, crashing into the ground, and an incredible Earth Power erupts right underneath the Spiritomb, launching it into the ceiling, “The same thing that’ll happen to that Spiritomb.” It rasps, “Now, get out of my way, or I’ll destroy all of you!”

Giratina shakes, its armour and scales rattling up and down its body. The Pokémon do part, but slowly, and just as Giratina reaches the center of their group, it remembers what the fake, dream Arceus had said. It slows its already awkward lope to the cave entrance, then stares at the black dragon.

“You and I fought in that desert. Why do you look different?”

The furious dragon discharges electricity into the ground from its turbine and wings, stomping forward, “WHAT DO YOU CARE?”

Giratina lowers the Aura Sphere, “Fine! I can fuse with Kyurem! I did so earlier!”

Giratina mumbles to itself, “... so this is Kyurem, but…” It takes a few more steps, “How do you know Rayquaza?”

The black dragon stares around, nearly hopping in place, “It was attacking Dragonspiral Tower.”

Giratina can’t help but smile, leaning in, “Truly? That must have been a sight to…” it coughs, a long, ragged sound, and moves closer to the entrance, whispers, “You are lucky.”

The white dragon and Metagross acquire strange looks on their faces. Giratina hides its face, and lets go of Kyurem. It vanishes before they even hit the ground, re-appearing some way out in the splintered trees, flat on its back. Giratina’s whole body still feels the spikes and freeze from earlier, and all that pain comes rushing back. Its legs refuse to move, wings askew, and the three Absol dash from the cave, Mamoswine just behind them. Giratina wriggles, lets out a high-pitched moan, watches them spring, then holds an Aura Sphere just in front of it. One Absol jumps smack into it, and the other two dodge at the last moment, landing beyond Giratina’s immediate attention. The Mamoswine bare their tusks, and one of Giratina’s legs respond, so it makes a smokescreen with Earth Power and flaps just out of the way with its twisted, numb wings. The Mamoswine collide with trees in the distance, but Giratina notices a flash of lightning tear out of the cave. It growls, clacking its jaws together, and decides not to lose another fight with that infuriating dragon. Giratina stands upright.

The Absol circle around Giratina, but it fires sloppy Aura Spheres in all directions, easily KOing all three. The Mamoswine return, and meet a similar fate, but Giratina additionally uses its wings like a matador, waving them, then jumping out of the way. Giratina has distorted its own limbs into usefulness, its legs twist unnaturally, its body curves and bends, its wings are patchy and stringy, but it can still stand by its own power. Giratina exhales a thick black cloud, and tries to look around with its new compound eyes. A black shape moves in nine thousand different lenses, then descends with a blue flash, smashing Giratina into the ground several feet away. The odd shape shouts,

“Gt-guh-tiuo-GNASE.”

So Giratina spins its head around its back, finds where the black shape went off to, and twists the ground around it into pointed spikes. The shape spins across fifteen dozen lenses, flashes blue, and Giratina prepares its Earth Power to interrupt the foolish dragon, but a white flash does the job first. They collide beyond Giratina’s three-sixty degree vision, and it lopes after them, its spring legs collapsing down to the ground, then hopping back up. It bounces back, aims its legs in the direction it’s flying, then bounces the other direction. Giratina spreads its legs outward to stop, hops in place, then figures out a lope using each side of three legs to bounce over.

It bounces up a broken hill, and gazes onto the black and white dragons speaking just beyond. They immediately turn to face Giratina, and make odd, guttural noises, which it records, then tries to interpret through its distorted ears. More Pokémon and people approach from behind, so Giratina extends its power. Dark brown Aura Spheres fly out of the ground, then solidify into draconic forms, claws outstretched, then turn dark and disappear from view. Giratina tries again, but succeeds only in twisting the hill beyond recognition, spikes of earth and wood jut out in every direction. The surrounding mob is jabbering to itself, but they aren’t coming any closer. Giratina bounces in place and prepares several spotty, short-lived Aura Spheres. One dark figure moves closer, and with its movements seems to be directing the other blurry figures. Giratina lets out a cascading sound, strangely soft at first, but increasing in volume, and a purple figure lunges towards it. A Garchomp. Giratina splits into two smaller Giratina, leaving a gap in the middle that the Garchomp flies through. The Giratina on their three springs bounce over towards the Garchomp, and reforms with its Shadow Force, but she drops a substitute before Giratina strikes. A substitute with an enticing caramel-coloured rock taped to it. Its aura is deep and sinister, and thus mildly comforting. Giratina grips it with its mouth, and it feels the presence of the Distortion World. Its head swivels back to its usual position, then its armour grows back into mandibles. Its legs shrink, cementing themselves into spikes on its sides. It can see clearly through its now typical corneal eyes, and immediately notes the tense, but unresponsive Garchomp right before it, and the various Pokémon surrounding it, including an angry Metagross intimidating those Mamoswine and Absol from before, and two roughed up dragons staring up from the dirt. It stares at the Garchomp, and speaks in short rasps,

“The Griseous orb.” She nods, “I will keep it…” Giratina glares at the ground, “but I am in your debt for its retrieval.”

The Garchomp gapes at Giratina for a second, then speaks, “Actually, I do have a few questions.”

Giratina floats up, curling just enough to expose all of its dangerous accoutrements, it hums, “That is a pathe-”

“What is the meaning of life?” The Garchomp stares into Giratina’s eyes, her wings splayed slightly back as her head pokes up as far as it can, “You are a god, right?”

It coughs, then mutters, “I’m a deity, not a god, I’m not male, but whatever,” it lowers itself, then speaks, “That’s a stupid question.”

She rears back, “WHAT?!”

Giratina hums to itself, “I said it’s stupid. Ask something else.”

The Garchomp stomps and glares harder, “At least explain WHY!”

“Fine. It’s unimaginative.” Giratina lowers itself to the ground, and side-eyes the furious Garchomp and the various other entities growing impatient around them. As the Garchomp prepares her next outburst, the black and white dragons lumber up from behind her. The white, furred one speaks softly, but with a deliberate tone,

“You would do well to not heed Giratina’s words.” The white dragon glares at Giratina, “It is famous for its violence and cruelty.”

Garchomp sputters and draws back, Giratina rolls over, stacking its six red spines idly across its chest, and says, “Oh, did you take that straight from the latest gossip mags?” Its spines flare outward, “Next they’ll be saying that I’m constantly watching you through every mirror! Ha! HAH!” It opens its mandibles towards the three dragons and nods, miming laughter.

The black dragon lets out a huff of electrified air, “WHAT are you even DOING here?!”

“I felt like visiting.” Giratina has totally relaxed into the dirt, and mumbles to itself, “Even if this place is nowhere as comfortable as my realm…”

The white dragon states, “You were banished to the distortion world for eternity.” It stiffly brings its tiny hands up to mime air quotes, “You shouldn’t be able to, ‘just visit’.”

Garchomp briefly mimes the white dragon’s pose, eliciting a giggle from Giratina. The black dragon is angry and unsatisfied. It shouts,

“Well, you better have a good reason for being here.” Its turbine glows blue, “If you do anything else like you pulled at Relic Castle, we’ll send you straight back there!”

“You insulted me AND attacked me first.” Giratina’s eyes glow, “You’re a fool if you think I’M the one at fault.”

The white dragon braces itself in front of its surprisingly calm counterpart, who spits out, “So what happened to Rayquaza?”

Giratina starts, notices the white dragon leaning in, then floats back into a more dignified position. It searches the ground, “That’s none of your business.”

The black dragon arcs a bolt of lightning into the ground, and shouts, “YES IT IS.” Giratina glares, “Rayquaza is a friend of mine.”

“Oh, really!” Giratina swishes side to side, “When I met it, it didn’t seem capable of that!”

The black dragon opens its mouth, but the white dragon sticks its hand inside and speaks,

“Then that is a folly of your own.” It nods, “Rayquaza is-”

“WHO ARE YOU TO THINK YOU CAN KNOW THE GODS THEMSELVES.”

Giratina backs up at its own outburst, but glares all the same. The white dragon bares its teeth, and says, gesturing as appropriate

“We are Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem, three deities of the Unova region.” It takes a step forward, “And we have a greater connection to Rayquaza than you’ll ever have.”

Giratina freezes in mid-air, eyes pulsing rapidly and dark aura expanding through the sky, forcing all the surrounding Pokémon to take terrified notice. Reshiram is smiling with grim determination. Giratina just screeches, barely controlled rage taking over,

“I. Hate. You.”

Giratina pops out of existence, but its black aura remains. Reshiram speaks, “I’ll handle this with Kyurem,” then bursts off into the cave, blue fire crashing out from behind it. Zekrom sighs, nods, then spins its turbine up slowly. Giratina slips out where Reshiram was, all its red stripes, spikes, and eyes dripping with light, so Zekrom steps out of the way and points to Reshiram. Giratina disappears again. Zekrom blasts towards the Absol, snatches all three, picks up the Mamoswine, motions the Metagross to follow, snags both humans who return their Pokémon, then leaves the crater in one fluid motion.

That mangy fur. Those tiny baby paws. That dumb plume. Everything about Reshiram makes Giratina angry. It even RAN AWAY first thing. Without any of the other Pokémon, Giratina goes all out. Each particle, each wall and rock is another thing for it to distort into a deadly weapon. That HORRIBLE dragon has escaped into the much more porous cave with Kyurem, and are aiming for a strange spike in the center. Giratina grins, then removes the space between it and the object, shunting it somewhere off to the side, then grabs it with three tendrils. Kyurem stabs it with its ice-cold wings, losing its concentration for just long enough that a white light fills the area. Giratina rubberbands back to where it was, and flies over as Kyurem launches ice spikes into Reshiram, and they fuse in the brilliant white light. The resulting dragon is taller, regal, with one flame-spewing wing and one coated in ice. Streams of magma flow through thin tubes connecting their shoulders and turbine, and they immediately launch a Fusion Flare at Giratina. It banks hard, chipping pieces off the ground, and disappears into a pocket dimension. Kyurem-White prepares a huge blizzard, chunks of flaming ice whip around the confined space, and Giratina floats just outside the cave before tearing back into reality. Kyurem-White launches the wind, and Giratina responds by launching an Aura Sphere behind itself and dashing around the cave entrance. It hears a screech and smiles, then extends its Earth Power into the ground just behind it, waiting for Kyurem-White to blast out of the cave. One second passes. Another. Giratina can’t hear anything from the cave, and the entrance itself looks odd from this angle.

Giratina floats up slowly, eyeing the wall of ice which sits just a few feet into the cave. It looks up and around the cave, but there’s no motion, and hardly any wind either. It approaches the wall, then fires an Aura Sphere in the center. It blasts through cleanly, but the wall smashes into Giratina, biting in with its intense cold and wisps of blue fire. Giratina lands a distance away, and rips up a wall of earth, blunting the slicing winds rushing from the cave. It vanishes, and watches from another world as Kyurem-White stays at a distance and concentrates a howling blizzard where it just was. It leaps out above them, and slices off some of their ice armour with its Dragon Claw. They screech,

“IS THIS REALLY WHAT RAYQUAZA IS WORTH TO YOU?”

Giratina freezes for an instant, rotating to glare, but Kyurem-White looses another massive Fusion Flare at point blank range.

“IS THIS TRULY WHAT RAYQUAZA WANTS?”

Giratina whips around from the quickly-spreading bonfire behind it, unable to look directly at its foe. It passes into another world, narrowly dodging a localized Blizzard, and lunges at Kyurem-White through the void. Its claws pierce their rigid, combined souls, making them grimace, then let out a burst of freezing air. Giratina’s scales freeze over, and its movements become sluggish as Kyurem-White prepares another salvo of ice. They say,

“THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE AND WHAT YOU WANT.”

Giratina slips into another dimension, and floats through and past its tense opponent. It resurfaces at the entrance to the cave, and floats inside before Kyurem-White notices. The cave is as sparse as before, totally empty but for icy stalagmites and a multi-coloured spike in the middle. Giratina takes it with its tendrils, and begins fiddling with the device. It turns, and Kyurem-White is already at the entrance, glaring daggers and shooting fire, so Giratina extends its power into the odd device. It changes and morphs, shifting Kyurem-White as it does so, but the two dragons unfuse before they morph along with it. Giratina’s Aura Sphere cracks Kyurem’s icy scales, and it falls unconscious in front of a burning, crazed Reshiram. It launches a vicious stream of fire, but barely singes Giratina’s scales. It shouts,

“Don’t try to psychoanalyse me, furry lizard.”

Reshiram just roars. Giratina uses its Earth Power to silence it with a fissure, and a few rocks dropped from the ceiling just to make sure it’s totally out.

Giratina floats slowly out of the room, giving its opponents’ prone bodies one last leer. The icy exterior of the cave dampens what little strength remains in its bones, so it quietly drifts to the opposite side of the crater that Zekrom evacuated to.

Finally out of the gaze of so many other interfering Pokémon, Giratina sets off into the forest to rest and eat some berries. Its scales are weathered, and its stomach couldn’t be complaining any more. The forest is very hard to search, with straight trunks, branches which run roughly perpendicular, and leaves and needles that are neither gigantic, nor deadly arrangements of knives. Giratina spends several minutes just checking out the first couple of trees, but manages to tear itself away. Things are just odd in the old world sometimes. Berries are usually on long, thin purple stalks with a thousand spiky leaves, but obviously the old world would have no analogue to that. It decides to take its time sifting through the forest, it can wring some fun out of frightening random Pokémon and taking in the brittle trees. The gentle brush of leaves, pine needles, and feeble branches breaking as it passes through is one of the few charming aspects of this realm, and Giratina soon forgets its mission.

Much later, it happens upon a craggy area, a cliff face strewn with unstable boulders and dried trees. Giratina spots a Mandibuzz sleeping on a tree, her head nodding back and forth as she naps, totally oblivious to the outside world. It creeps along the ground, distorting the shadows of nearby trees to make a parody of hiding. Giratina is far thicker than even the largest tree here, and once it reaches the Mandibuzz’s tree, its spiky tendrils begin travelling up one by one, slowly approaching the oblivious bird.

“Hydreigon! Dragon Pulse!”

The Mandibuzz squawks and erupts from the tree to Giratina’s hissing displeasure, then it screeches as a beam of power tears into its scales from behind. Giratina dives into another dimension, taking the time to glare at a tiny child with hair the size of her body, and a seasoned Hydreigon glaring directly at it. Dark types are always a nuisance. Giratina leaps out with a volley of Aura Spheres, but takes a glancing blow from another Dragon Pulse before the Hydreigon faints. Now above the trainer, Giratina reaches out with its telepathy,

‘Puny mortal. Flee from this place if you wish to live.’

The trainer releases her next Pokémon, and responds by directing her thoughts, ‘I saw you stuck in a block of ice earlier,’ She smirks as Giratina slides by into reality, then says with her physical mouth, “I know I can beat you.”

Giratina roars and KOs her Aggron with Earth Power, then messages again, ‘You are a fool’, as she retrieves another Pokéball and steps back, brow furrowed. Giratina charges, grabbing her with three of its wings as a Salamence warps from its Pokéball, and freezes once it sees its captive trainer. Giratina uses one of its other tendrils to slowly wrap around and press the button to return the Salamence.

‘Anything to say?’

Giratina isn’t quite sure what to do with this odd child. She huffs next to its head, “No.” and Giratina starts looking around for someplace to put her. “Hey, but what are you doing here in the first place?” If she’s let go here, she’ll probably contact the other humans, and she has Pokémon to fly her wherever she needs to go. Giratina levitates a large boulder, “No, seriously! And why haven’t you killed me or sucked my soul out yet?” and there’s a cave just over there that it would fit in perfectly. The human manages to get her arm unstuck, and cave is so small that the boulder would fill it entirely. She starts smacking Giratina’s back, “I know you can answer me!”

Well, there is one place she couldn’t escape. Giratina curls around to glare at her, ‘Give me your Xtransceiver.’

“Uh, sure?”

With her free hand she retrieves her communication device, and holds it outstretched. Giratina smacks it into the air, “HEY! WHAT!” then distorts time and space, slowing its fall and stretching it to about human-sized. It opens to the base of shiny sink, and Giratina shoves the girl through just as a green hand starts washing a pie tin. Odd, but Giratina closes the portal in on itself before it sees the reason why.

Finally, Giratina can relax and forget about Rayquaza with no interruptions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye Iris! Hope you enjoyed your nine seconds of screen time!


	9. Rayquaza Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The distortion world is calmer and more luxurious than Volcarona and Rayquaza could ever imagine, but is there a danger to getting lost in this twisted world?

“AHAHAHA!” Plumes of water shatter across the cliff as Rayquaza races through the waterfall again, Volcarona idly plucks perfectly-ripe berries and mashes them into a metal pan that she found. Rayquaza glances over from underneath the waterfall, and guffaws at Volcarona,

“WHAT PROCESS ARE YOU PERFORMING WITH THOSE BERRIES?”

She tilts her antennae towards Rayquaza, “I am cooking. These pots are used to make food.”

Rayquaza dashes overhead, nearly giggling at her berry-coated limbs, “VERY FEW RECIPES REQUIRE THE SMASHING OF BERRIES BEFORE ALL ELSE!”

Her gaze travels from Rayquaza to her pan, and she nods, buzzing in place, “So what do you propose we do?” Her back straightens out, and she stares Rayquaza right in the eyes.

It closes and opens its mouth in amusement, then begins pointing at Volcarona’s creation, “THAT IS A PIE TIN. IT IS TYPICAL TO LINE IT WITH PIE CRUST FIRST.”

“What is pie crust, and where can we find it?”

Rayquaza coughs, nearly taken aback by how serious Volcarona is, and shouts with less reckless abandon than usual, “WE MUST FORM IT OURSELVES FROM GRAIN SUGAR SALT AND BUTTER.” It loops above Volcarona, “IT REQUIRES MATERIALS FROM THE OLD WORLD SO WE MUST MAKE SUBSTITUTIONS.”

Volcarona glares into the dirt, and softly buzzes, “I never realized that this would require so much work.”

“YOU HAVE NEVER BAKED FOOD BEFORE.”

Volcarona shakes her head, “No, I burn most Pokémon before I eat them, but any prepared food was made by the Baltoy we lived with.”

Rayquaza does a loop-de-loop and lets out an amused cough, “BALTOY DO NOT SOUND LIKE EFFECTIVE CHEFS.”

She flits side-to-side, “They failed more often than not.” She follows Rayquaza as it makes a beeline for some apparently known location, “Cofagrigus and Yamask were capable of creating masterful dishes, but only did so once in a decade.”

The void that Volcarona and Rayquaza float in is far from empty, a myriad of warped buildings, items or atoms stretched into infinity, and several looping collapses are scattered about the distortion world. They treat all these sights with naught but a glance, even after just several hours, they’ve already seen far more fantastical constructions and impossible fixtures.

Rayquaza flies in a circle around Volcarona, staring in every direction. It growls softly, tail bucking and weaving underneath Volcarona. She side-eyes her companion, and buzzes,

“Are we lost?”

“NO!” Rayquaza narrows its eyes further, “DID YOU KNOW OF A RED-ROOFED TEMPLE IN THIS DIRECTION?”

She flaps slower, leaning back towards Rayquaza’s spasming tail, “What, perchance, was the object of this venture?”

Rayquaza stiffens out, and wraps loosely around Volcarona, avoiding eye contact all the while, “I SAW A GRAIN-ADJACENT FOOD AND SOUGHT TO RETRIEVE IT.” Rayquaza unfurls and dashes into a crumbling spire. It hears Volcarona buzzing outside, so tries to quickly scour the tower to go and reassure her. It’s fairly bare, brick and wood tower, but in the third room, Rayquaza finds a kitchen. There are wrought-iron implements, including ladles, oddly ornate cutlery, and large pans hanging perpendicular to their hooks. Most odd are the totally normal ingredients and foods within the pantry. Rayquaza grabs a bag of flour, then snakes through the remaining floors. Volcarona is admiring an ornate bell, so Rayquaza hovers next to her before proudly displaying a bag of flour.

“EXACTLY LIKE THOSE FROM THE OLD WORLD.”

Volcarona readjusts her legs that aren’t holding the pie tin, and buzzes,

“Or it could be a clever disguise.”

Rayquaza screeches softly and Volcarona responds with a sort-of scoff. They speak simultaneously,

“THIS WORLD IS-”

“You’re too trus-”

They both pause to let the other speak, Volcarona leans back, flapping intermittently, and Rayquaza coils around itself. It says,

“WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED NOTHING THAT MEANT US HARM.”

“Have you forgotten the spike field already,”

Rayquaza does a loop-de-loop around the tower’s roof, “THAT EXPERIENCE WAS SEVERAL DAYS IN THE PAST.”

Volcarona glares into the floor, “I cannot believe that such a dangerous creature would strand us in a place so hospitable.”

“THIS PLACE IS OVERWHELMINGLY FUN.” Rayquaza does loops around the tower, “IS IT NOT BEST TO ENJOY IT WHILE IT IS HERE?”

She buzzes softly, “Could I test the flour?”

“CERTAINLY.”

Rayquaza drops the sack down, and with the low gravity, Volcarona catches it easily in her two remaining legs. She tears into it with her proboscis, and samples a bit.

Rayquaza stares lazily, floating along outside the tower, but keeps Volcarona in its line of sight. She just nods at Rayquaza, and hands the flour back over.

“It’s not poisoned.” She bobs from side to side, “Or the poison is very slow acting.”

“IF YOU PERISH HERE I WILL MAKE YOUR SACRIFICE KNOWN TO ALL!”

Rayquaza stretches its puny arms out and launches fire into the air, Volcarona freezes for a second,

“That is the last thing I would wish for.”

Rayquaza flips its head upside-down to stare, but realizes that she must be so modest that she wouldn’t want the credit for such an act. It nods sagely, floating idly after Volcarona. The scenery shifts from decrepit ruins to floating mountains, with a huge sea sloshing around them like a massive worm winding its way through their canyons and caves. The land is sparse brown rock, sedimentary layers twisting through each other, and being carved out by the nearby sea with no sense or reason. Rayquaza immediately dives into the sea, feeling its convolutions and undulations as it smashes into rocks, slithers along the cliffs, and feeds into a narrow cave. Rayquaza pulls into a side cavern free of water, but full of minerals and odd geodes. One in particular is enough to make Rayquaza smile at it, a large rock salt boulder. They won’t need that much for pie crust, but it wraps its whole body around the boulder to carry it anyway.

It’s stuck tight to the ground. Rayquaza growls and bites it, chomping off bits to enjoy the taste, but an idea strikes its head. It spends the better part of the next five minutes eating the base of the boulder.

Eventually, it’s loose enough to move, and Rayquaza bodily rips it out of the ground, and floats slightly slower back into the current. The odd sea whips it around, and it nearly smacks into the cliff faces surrounding the sea before it can launch itself out. It screeches happily, drumming the boulder with one hand, and goes to search for Volcarona.

She gives Rayquaza and its boulder a short buzz, then says,

“We will need to find more flour.”

Rayquaza twists its head away, “NO OUR ONLY REMAINING INGREDIENT IS BUTTER.” It gesticulates with one hand, “SHALL I RECOUNT THE RECIPE?”

Volcarona scoffs, “You took the flour into that current. It’s totally ruined.”

Rayquaza looks at the drenched, shredded bag of flour in its clenched fist and blinks repeatedly. It lets out a soft screech.

Volcarona laughs.

It does a loop-de-loop, and flies off in some direction, “WE WILL MORE THAN LIKELY FIND WHAT WE NEED SOON.”

She nods slowly, “I must agree.” Rayquaza spins around to stare with a huge smile on its face, “Rayquaza, you are being a bad sport.”

Rayquaza twists its head and loses the smile, “I DO NOT RECALL WHAT SPORT WE WERE PLAYING.”

“I meant-” Volcarona flaps harder, “It’s not important. But you are correct, we will likely run into whatever we need next.”

The mountains are far behind them, and a huge variety of metal structures rise before the pair. Large plates of sheet metal attach to girders connecting impossibly distant buildings, and twisted, steel machinery still constructs itself and gradually expands the structure. Huge tubes look like they would be fun to slip through, 

“Rayquaza, don’t forget the rock salt.” 

It gasps and flies back to wrap itself around the boulder and follow Volcarona. Further into the structure, there’s a large wooden building. It’s being added onto by the machines that the other machines were building, let loose to place planks, lamps, elevators, ornate carpets, and other furniture. They cautiously pace the extremely wide, well-lit hallways, and occasionally stop to stare at particularly intricate moulding or a mural depicting complex insignias.

Eventually they reach a particularly wide hallway, easily hundreds of feet wide, and long enough that Rayquaza can’t see the end without squinting. The mural spanning it is green and spiky, and Rayquaza flies so that it undulates with the mural. Volcarona stares long into the mural and Rayquaza, flapping slower than usual.

“HAVE YOU MADE AN OBSERVATION?”

“This mural looks like you.”

It raises a hand to its chin, “AS ALL GORGEOUS THINGS DO.”

Volcarona buzzes harshly, “No, it IS you. Giratina’s machine is painting a mural of you.”

“I AM DEPICTED IN MANY A GREAT WORK.”

Rayquaza flips over Volcarona and heads back out of the hallway.

“Rayquaza, it tried to kidnap you.” Volcarona turns to face Rayquaza, “It has, or had, a majour complex for you.”

“WHAT IS THE POINT YOU ARE MAKING.”

Volcarona bobs side to side, “Just that. Did you not see the signs?”

Rayquaza flies faster, “NO.” It dashes through a metal door, then shuts it part of the way. It spins around in a large, industrial kitchen, extremely well polished, and filled to the brim with fresh ingredients. It’s more than large enough for Rayquaza, or multiple Rayquaza, to cook in simultaneously. Rayquaza sets its boulder down on one of the counters, and gathers the other ingredients in generous portions. Volcarona floats into the room slowly, buzzing softly,

“It is more than all right if you are oblivious some of the time.”

Rayquaza can’t meet its gaze.

“That’s what friends are for.”

It begins to set up a pie tin, “I SHOULD BE MORE THAN POWERFUL ENOUGH FOR ANYTHING.”

She scoffs, “Well, you haven’t experienced everything yet.”

“NEITHER HAVE YOU.” Rayquaza holds a hand out to her, “THE PIE TIN.”

She hands it over, “Oh, right.”

Volcarona hovers behind Rayquaza while it washes the pie tin, intently staring at each movement. The water comes out and shatters over the dish, sending Volcarona’s mashed berries down the drain.

“PIES ARE EXTREMELY EASY COMPARED TO OTHER DISHES.”

It flies over to its counter, and bends its head so it can see with one eye while working with its hands. It  combines the flour, butter, and some water, Volcarona buzzes,

“Where does the salt come in?”

Rayquaza chips off a tiny bit of salt, and moulds it into the dough.

“IT IS A MINOR INGREDIENT.”

Volcarona flutters slowly.

“NOW THE CRUST IS FINISHED AND THE BERRY MASHING CAN BEGIN.”

Rayquaza smiles open-mouthed and hands a bowl with washed berries over to Volcarona. She eagerly crushes them with her tiny limbs, smashing them into a paste. Rayquaza scoffs at her new purple colouring, so she shoots fire to burn it off.

“THE PASTE FORMS THE MEAT OF THE PIE AND WILL BE COVERED BY THE REMAINING PIE CRUST.”

Rayquaza leans in, trying to form an intricate lattice with its huge claws, so Volcarona says,

“Could I assist you here?”

“BY ALL MEANS.”

Volcarona starts forming a complex geometric pattern. Rayquaza stares at the ground, and says

“I MEAN NO OFFENSE BUT WHAT EXPERIENCE WITH EMOTIONS HAVE YOU HAD?”

She flaps slower, but continues her overly-complicated pattern, “I have had crushes before.”

“DID YOU NOT LIVE IN A RUIN FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?”

Volcarona turns away, head searching for something along the wall, “Claydol can be surprisingly charming.”

Rayquaza tries not to guffaw, and sticks one claw in its mouth to shut itself up. Volcarona leaves the pie, and Rayquaza picks it up with a flourish.

“NOW IT SHOULD BE BAKED FOR THIRTEEN MINUTES AT 350 DEGREES.”

Rayquaza heads over to the pre-set oven, but Volcarona buzzes angrily,

“I CAN DO THAT!”

It turns around as Volcarona snags the pie out of its grasp, and sits on a counter, radiating heat. Rayquaza twists its head, but Volcarona is a blazing ring of fire, perfectly serene in her power. It backs up as some of the softer metals around her redden, but merely guffaws at her dedication. She speaks

“Rayquaza, it is not unusual to have a stalker from time to time. Giratina will forget about you, or we can beat it up whenever we want.”

It chuckles, “I DO WISH TO SPAR WITH YOU SOME DAY. WE HAVE NOT FOUGHT EACH OTHER YET.”

Volcarona leans in, “As long as you promise not to go easy on me.”

“HAHA! THERE IS NO CHANCE OF THAT!” Rayquaza gesticulates with its own fire. Volcarona responds with a plume of flame, and it fills the other side of the room with a Fire Blast. She leaves her post and launches a Heat Wave, softening pots, pans, vents, and causing a claxon to ring from about nine thousand different directions. Rayquaza screeches back, Volcarona hides the pie with her wings, and a dozen robots enter and start icing the walls down with a flame retardant, and a device which launches blocks of solid hydrogen. The freezing mist cools everything in the room, and Rayquaza tries to escape before it freezes to the bone. Some robots approach it with a gigantic stretcher, but it clings to the ceiling pot rack, screeching until they go away. Volcarona lets out a modulated, amused buzz, and sets the perfectly cooked pie on the counter. Rayquaza twists back down from the ceiling, head low and scales rattling, but untouched by robots. She buzzes happily,

“Do you have something against robots?”

“OH YOU MEAN YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER.” Rayquaza smiles narrowly, teeth still rattling from the cold.

Volcarona blasts it with a Heat Wave, then buzzes,

“So, how is it eaten.”

Rayquaza gets out several plates, forks, and a knife, “WITH ICE CREAM BUT WE MUST GO WITHOUT TODAY.”

It cuts the pie, puts it on eight different plates, and hands one to Volcarona, who picks it up, then stares blankly at Rayquaza. She extends her proboscis futilely into the crusty eighth of a mandala, eating nothing.

“YOU CANNOT CONSUME PIES.”

Volcarona glares at Rayquaza, puts the and plate down with the others, then extends her proboscis to drink the remaining mashed berries from before.

“I APOLOGIZE! SHALL WE CREATE A DIFFERENT CONCOCTION FOR YOU?”

“Sure. We have infinite time, and the perfect kitchen.”

Rayquaza smiles and announces, “THEN WE SHALL SCOUR THE UNIVERSE FOR FITTING DISHES!”

It heads over to the sink with some of the dirty utensils and empty pie tin, and puts the pie tin in first, blasting water down. The surface below shimmers, and Rayquaza draws back as Iris, the Unova region Pokémon league champion is shoved through.

“RAYQUAZA!” Iris yells with conviction, water dripping from her clothes as she brings out a Pokéball,

“IRIS!” Rayquaza yells with vigour, a plate of pie outstretched before it.

Iris gapes, says, “For me?”

“YES.”

She digs into the pie without getting out of the sink. Volcarona tries to share a look with Rayquaza, but it just smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Hope you enjoy three chapters at once! I'm hoping to finish this before school starts up again, so hopefully you can expect more next week! The finale is fast approaching, so prepare your fanfiction-reading popcorn? Thanks so much for reading!


	10. Giratina Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giratina tries to relax, but an oncoming storm forces it and Zekrom to grow closer than they ever have before.

Giratina curls up on a sun-soaked rock as huge rain clouds roll in from the east. It’s getting used to the idea that up is always blue, down is always brown, and the elements themselves don’t obey its every whim. There could be more Pokémon to bother around the area, but that could come to pass another day. It stretches its full length along the edge of the cliff, absorbing all of the sun with its craggy scales. It sighs, then nearly rolls off the cliffs as a tremendous wind buffets it. Giratina stabs its tendrils into the rock, and notices that those distant clouds are already above it, disgorging countless drops of rain all over its length. It growls, and hears Pokémon cries from the forest.

Several Mandibuzz, with their Vullaby just behind them glide out of the forest and over between some rocks. Giratina slithers after them, eyes narrowed and trying desperately to distort the rain away from it with its tentacles in the air. One raindrop hits the direct center of its barrier, increases dramatically in size, then drops through, soaking Giratina to the bone. It lets out a small screech as it approaches the cave entrance they were aiming for, and dives inside. A steady trickle of water rushes into the cave, already host to many testy Pokémon. The Mandibuzz squawk and buffet at Giratina, so it floats up and vanishes. They screech at each other,

“It’s a stupid darn ghost!” Giratina tries to pass overhead, but they use Dark Pulse to ward it back to the entrance, buffeted by rain and wind. One Mandibuzz glares at Giratina while two others squawk and move their Vullaby further into the cave, towards a Heatmor on a rise, safe from the water. It’s surrounded by Mienfoo, Axew, and one confused Deino, supervised by older Pokémon just behind them. The Heatmor drawls,

“Just, y’know, let the ghost in, what’s the harm…”

“It’s a darn huge ghost,” The Mandibuzz at the entrance retreats to the living bonfire, “Don’t’cha see it?!”

The Heatmor narrows its eyes, “Naah, it’s just kinda… dark…”

Giratina twitches, the Mandibuzz squawk, and there’s shifting around behind the Heatmor. Giratina floats through, spreading its six claws across the great expanse of the cave, and rumbles,

“Can you see me now?”

The Mandibuzz flutter in the air, “See?! SEE!!”, a Haxorus steps out of the darkness, baring its fangs, the Mienfoo flee to a Mienshao just behind the Heatmor, and he releases a huge burst of flame, disturbing a group of Woobat. In the pocket of silence, he nearly murmurs,

“Hey, ey, let’s not get riled up,” He holds his claws up for a second, “We ‘aven’t even said a greetin’ yet. Let’s us at least be polite.”

Giratina is scraping itself off with its claws, and glares at the Haxorus for daring to stare at it. The Haxorus stomps forward and says,

“I agree. Welcome to our cave.”

It narrows its eyes and grumbles,

“I would’ve used it anyway.”

Giratina floats over to an unoccupied corner of the cave, glaring daggers at all of the curious looks sent its way, and the leers of the Mandibuzz still hovering over their squawking Vullaby. The Heatmor returns to the young Pokémon warming themselves on its radiant heat, and the Haxorus puts herself between Giratina and the rest of the group. The Heatmor sets himself down on a flat rock, smiling at the Mienfoo who guide the Deino over to his new location. The dim firelight dances across the wall as the rain picks up.

The Heatmor clears his voice, “You wanna hear a story, ery’one?”

One of the Mienfoo shouts, “Yeah!”

The Vullaby crowd around too, bickering with their Mandibuzz moms, and several rocks in the corners move as Boldore and Roggenrola lift their stone ears just aboveground. The mandibuzz squawk at that, “Sneaky dumb rock monsters!” but no one else seems surprised. Giratina feels something move beneath it, and flops out of the corner to glare at a tiny mound of rock.

“Ah long, long time ago, before even the humans came, there were a mighty Hydreigon.” The Deino’s head perks up, and it aims at the Heatmor, “They ruled over this mountain, attacking all those who scaled these cliffs. It went unopposed, and bullied all the smaller Pokémon, and was feared by all. One day, though, all it did were to go in a cave, and smash up Durant holes.” Heatmor lets out a gust of fire at a small crevasse in the cave walls, a tell-tale sign of a Durant nest. “Ah course, they took notice, an attacked the Hydreigon on all sides. Once it were out, they sealed that cave off from all they others.” He sweeps his arms out, “An that Hydreigon was never ‘eard from again.”

“That’s a stupid story.”

Giratina lolls its head over, glaring at the bemused Heatmor.

“Any self-respecting Hydreigon would have learned a fire move.”

The Haxorus turns around, leaning against a stalagmite, “And what makes you think it hadn’t?”

“It wouldn’t have lost if it had a fire type move. Obviously.”

She leans down, “How many Durant are in this mountain?”

Giratina draws its spikes up, and rears its head back off the ground, “A few, thousand-”

“No. Millions. It’s a whole HIVE of Durant. Even the most powerful Hydreigon couldn’t take all them out.”

“Yeah, but-”

The Haxorus clears her throat pointedly, “But that’s not the point of the story. The point is-”

Giratina’s tendrils spread across the cavern’s walls, darkness overwhelming what little light there is, and it rumbles with malice, “I KNOW THE POINT OF THE STORY.”

The room grows quiet, and the older Pokémon turn to face Giratina. The Mandibuzz squawk, and the Roggenrola just inches away burrows back into the ground.

Giratina’s shadow lessens, but its eyes still glow red, “It’s just a DUMB point!”

It drops back to the ground. A few moments pass as Heatmor calms the room again, showing off tricks with his fire.

A massive explosion sounds from outside, a peal of thunder rippling through the walls, Pokémon jump, but hunker down as the water flow picks up. A torrent flows just past the group, and the Haxorus and Giratina get caught in the spray. It growls,

“THIS PLACE ISN’T SAFE.”

Then another, deafening blast of thunder crashes right next to the cave entrance, the flash revealing the dozens of Woobat and Durant stealing across the ceiling, and the deafened Pokémon beneath.

A massive black shape steps through the cave entrance, totally inundated with water, but imposing as it steps into the small river forming next to the gathered Pokémon’s rock formation. It shouts,

“CAN YOU GET TO HIGHER GROUND? WHO IS THE LEADER HERE?”

The Haxorus leaps up,

“IS IT A FLASH FLOOD?” Zekrom nods, and a flash lights up the cave, “HEATMOR, TAKE THEM FURTHER INTO THE CAVE.”

“IT WILL NOT STOP ANY TIME SOON.”

Zekrom turns around, but stops itself, then turns back, “HAXORUS, HAVE YOU SEEN A GREAT BLACK WYRM? IT GOES BY THE NAME ‘GIRATINA’.”

The Haxorus waves its group on ahead, and glares into the corner for a moment. The rain is coming down like a machine gun pointed to the ground, and water has nearly reached the rock Heatmor was sitting upon.

“YES. IT’S IN THAT CORNER.”

Haxorus bounds along to the loud hisses of Giratina, its form rising out to threaten Zekrom with its claws. Zekrom steps back, and says,

“I DIDN’T COME HERE TO FIGHT YOU.”

“TOO BAD.”

Giratina lunges, Zekrom blasts out of the cave, the wall of rain shattering outward as it pierces it. Giratina imbeds itself into the wall, but uses its spikes to push off the wall, and launches itself out into the rain. A peal of thunder rolls through, and it spies Zekrom above it flying back to the cliff face. Giratina follows, rain pounding each scale like a bucket of rocks. There’s another waterlogged cave entrance, so Giratina enters, spreading darkness throughout the cave. It pauses once it sees Zekrom and a Poliwrath arguing, surrounded by Durant, Poliwhirl, and Poliwag.

“WE CAN’T SWIM THROUGH THESE CURRENTS!”

“CAN YOU MAKE A RAFT, ANYTHING?!” Zekrom smiles at the shivering Poliwag, shielding them from some of the backdraft with its large claws, “THIS ISN’T CALMING DOWN ANYTIME SOON!”

Giratina glares around the room, especially at the small, puny Pokémon huddled around. Zekrom shouts,

“I CAN ONLY CARRY A FEW OF YOU AT A TIME. HOW FAR IS THE LAKE?”

“VERY FAR. I’LL NEED TO GUIDE YOU!”

Zekrom and the Poliwrath try to carry as many Poliwag and Poliwhirl as they can, but the Durant have no way to hang on. Zekrom bows its head, shivering slightly,

“I AM SO SORRY.”

The scattered Durant are already nearly underwater, but are totally calm. The lead Durant nods its head, and motions to the underwater tunnel. Just as the Poliwrath is about to leap in, Giratina pokes a tendril in front of her. It screeches,

“WHAT?!? You can’t SWIM?! SWIMMING IS YOUR WHOLE THING!!”

The Poliwrath tenses up, moving as if to punch Giratina, but thinks better of it when a Poliwag starts slipping off. Zekrom shouts,

“THIS IS NOT THE TIME, GIRATINA!”

“OF COURSE THIS IS THE TIME! YOU’RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE POKÉMON HERE TO DIE?!”

Zekrom sparks into the ground, and growls,

“IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!”

The Poliwrath nods, and dives into the raging waters. It smashes into a rock, but shields its kin with its arm. Giratina flinches, and Zekrom takes another step before motioning towards the Durant with its head.

Giratina roars, then extends its tendrils through the walls, branching out into another dimension, and takes the entire tunnel of water. It takes just the water, and slows its timescale by a factor of 100, making the waters sluggish and easy to navigate. Giratina screeches as it distorts the rigid flow of time in this universe, but fills the room with the red glow from its eyes with its sheer power.

“NOW. YOU. CAN. SWIM.”

The Poliwag and Poliwhirl on Zekrom hop into the pleasant, calm water, and swim after the Poliwrath on their own. Zekrom mumbles thanks, and grabs all the Durant before diving into the water.

Giratina is left in a cavern next to a sheet of roaring water, paralysed by its own exertion. It screeches and shouts after Zekrom,

“COME BACK AND FIGHT ME!”

But there’s no response, and Giratina is stuck trying to form patterns in the rain while keeping time distorted. It bows its head down, stretches itself out more, and hunkers down. Now on the ground, water flowing around it, it notices that distorted water is building up at the entrance. The water that’s supposed to be on the other end of the tunnel is still here, and more water is rushing through every second. It keeps its grip on the distortion of the tunnel, but uses a tiny fraction of its waning strength to redirect that water back out of the cave and onto the cliffs.

It smashes its claws into the ground, and screeches as it loses the shadow that was re-directing the distorted water. It hears loud, quadruple thunder from outside, and a gruff voice shout,

“ZEKROM! ARE YOU STILL PRESENT?”

Giratina screeches, half underwater,

“OF COURSE NOT YOU IDIOT.”

A large brown and grey quadruped with dark brown spikes on its head calmly steps through the sheet of roaring water and almost onto Giratina. It speaks into Giratina’s mind,

“Are you in need of assistance? You appear to be in pain.”

Giratina flips over and glares at the creature, humming with anger and exertion, then screeches,

“OH YEAH, IF YOU CAN BEND DIMENSIONS!” It spasms its tail, “THANKS SO MUCH!”

The quadruped grimaces, “What are the whereabouts of Zekrom? Have you seen it?”

Giratina mumbles, “Somewhere it’s getting a beating.”

“I did not hear what you said.”

It rises off the ground by extending its tentacles as far as they’ll go, and screeches,

“ONCE I’M DONE WITH THIS I’LL BEAT YOU UP TOO!!”

The large creature laughs, a booming voice which just barely beats out the sound of the rain, and it says,

“Of course! By the honourable name of Terrakion, I shall never turn down a duel!” It holds its head high, and grins even in the dim red light, “But I must search the mountain once more for missing or injured Pokémon before I return. Hold fast!”

Terrakion leaps out of the cave with one gallop, and Giratina hears another quadruple thunderclap as it navigates the cliffside. Once again, Giratina is alone with its thoughts, pain, and its own eyes’ dimming red light. It collapses back into the pile of distorted, flaky water as its tentacles give out, and shuts its mandibles. From below the water, the cave ripples and waves, flowing gently like a blanket being shifted across a mattress. Giratina can’t ignore the shocks of pain as its own distortion twists through its body, and it feels both above and below the water, sifting through the distorted and regular versions of the distant cave ceiling, illuminated only by a soft purple light. It hears a distant, mournful cry,

“Giratina?! GIRATINA!”

“I’m everything.” Giratina does a jig with its seventeen legs, kicking off the walls, “I’ve got.”

It feels a sharp electric shock, and crashes back into the cave. Its grip is lost on the tunnel, but Zekrom stands right before it, a smirk plastered on its face.

“Thanks for the help.”

Giratina hears a weird mumbling from above the water, and shouts back,

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

“I SAID THANK YOU.” It raises its black mitten-shaped wings, “THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL!”

Giratina buries its head in the rocks below, and mumbles,

“Shut up idiot.”

“I ALSO WISH TO SPEAK FURTHER, CAN WE MOVE ELSEWHERE?”

“NO.”

Giratina slashes upwards, splashing the room and Zekrom with water, then claws at it while spinning off the ground. Zekrom takes a step backwards into the rushing water, and fires a Fusion Bolt at Giratina. Giratina lunges after it, scales still stinging from the lightning, and slips into another dimension. It flows faster than Zekrom, who’s trying to peer through the darkness with its blue spotlight, and pops back into existence downstream from it, immediately rending Zekrom’s soul with Shadow Force. It wildly spins around and slashes, but Giratina is already swimming through the water at top speed. The water banks and smashes the pair with rocks, boulders, small walls and one good spike, but Zekrom keeps releasing electric shocks, easily hitting Giratina with the conductive water. It does an aileron roll, spinning its claws on the wall to dislodge rocks, boulders, and silt, and Zekrom slows down past its electrifying range. Giratina turns around to smile at its handiwork, but the water scrapes it against a spiky wall as Zekrom charges with absolute Outrage through the water. Giratina launches the spikes with its Earth Power, but even injured, Zekrom slashes with all its might, smashes with its tail turbine, and throws Giratina directly into a wall. Giratina gasps, inhaling a mouthful of muddy water, and wildly slashes with its own claws, colliding with Zekrom’s sharp talons. It grabs three of Giratina’s tendrils with each claw, opens its mouth to roar, then kicks Giratina repeatedly as it chokes on the current. Giratina flips them around, scraping Zekrom against the wall with its Earth Power as it continues to rage, and they both succumb to the current.

 

\--

 

A blast of fire erupts in front of Giratina. It hops up with a start, and glares at the cavern of Pokémon around it. It’s a much larger cavern than the caves they’ve been in previously, and this one has a swift, wide river rushing along the right side. Giratina is standing on a sandy lip just before the main cliffs, and a Heatmor stands on a rock near the beach. He says,

“Ah, welcome to the lake,” He meanders off the rock, “This’s where we go when things go sour. You’re our Giratina, right?”

The Heatmor crawls up a small cliff as Giratina gets its bearings, opening its mouth, and speaks, “What do you care.”

“Uhuh, yup, you should probs thank our Poliwrath, she went ta all the trouble of dragging you and Zekrom out of the river.”

Giratina looks down from its new torso, at its six stubby, thick legs, and takes a few steps. It then realizes that it lost the Griseous Orb, and screeches mournfully. It beats its wings, gusting past the Heatmor, and shouts,

“WHERE IS ZEKROM.”

“Uh, it’s further up the…”

Giratina hops to one side, then expands its wings to the end of the cavern, lifting off ungainly, but flapping past the field of stalacmites into the cavern proper. The stalacmites form a small rock forest, and right past it is a huge, still lake ringed with sand and tunnels. Smaller Pokémon nest in alcoves overlooking the lake, and past the beach is an area carved by, and mostly full of Durant. They’ve carved the rock into a few Durant sculptures, and a large square plaza, where Zekrom is sitting with a few Fraxure, a Mienshao, a host of Durant and Boldore, and a few Mienfoo and Axew. Giratina’s buffeting winds force all but Zekrom to stop talking, and the Durant take notice as it lands in front of the entrance to the crowded plaza. The opening is only about ten feet wide, and one of the Durant atop speaks in short scritching sounds,

“If you wanna come in, make sure to tuck those wings in.” It points to the statues next to it, “This plaza has a monolithic structure, so we can’t replace it.”

“Pfft, that only makes me want to break it-”

Dozens of chittering Durant appear from all sides, at least seven on each statue and many more rising from the sand and flowing through the gate to the plaza, Giratina rears up on its legs as they scamper over to it and shouts,

“OKAY NEVERMIND I’LL BE CAREFUL.”

Several Durant stop inches away from biting Giratina, their jaws still open, and a flock of Mandibuzz further back burst into laughter. Giratina glares at them as the same Durant as previous says,

“Don’t forget that we have eyes everywhere.” It waves its antennae, and the Durant retreat, “We’ll give you a pass, ‘cause you saved a whole bunch of us from the flood.”

Giratina growls, ducking its head and wings as it steps into the plaza. Even with it bunched up, it still has to squeeze through to avoid scraping the walls. A Mienfoo laughs along with Zekrom, but a Fraxure starts whispering to it. An Axew runs up, lets out a high-pitched roar, and leaps at Giratina with its tusks. The kid passes straight through Giratina, who calmly steps through and past the first row of chairs and stands. It shouts,

“Zekrom.”

“Ah, yes, I did wish to speak wi-”

“What happened to my Griseous orb?”

Zekrom blinks, “Is this a rhetorical question?”

Giratina’s wings fill the space behind it, some of the Boldore hide beneath chairs. It lets out a long breath, and murmurs,

“So I just lost it then.”

It flops down with a massive whumph, crushing several chairs and causing a draft through the whole plaza. Zekrom giggles to itself, and the Fraxure coughs, shouting loud and proud,

“THIS is the legendary renegade Pokémon?” He hops over, “You’re just a rude bully! Zekrom told us all about what you’ve done up on the surface!”

Zekrom shifts and opens its mouth, but Giratina speaks first,

“You called me the ‘Renegade’ Pokémon.”

The Fraxure puts his hands on his hips, “Yeah?”

“Have you ever heard of a polite revolution?”

Giratina uses its wings to crawl back up to its feet, “What? What revolution?”

“Against Arceus. I fought your god once.”

Fraxure backs up as Giratina stretches its wings and flaps once, he cries out, “Well, you’re still rude! You just threatened to destroy the Durant’s statues!”

Giratina glares at the Fraxure, and its eyes flash red,

“You were supposed to ask why I fought Arceus so that I could tell you how cool the fight was.”

“Well, maybe explain why you’re so rude all the time instead!”

Giratina leers over at Zekrom, “I don’t wanna talk to this kid anymore-”

“HEY! I’m not-”

“What did you want to talk about? And keep it quick, I want to nap once the rain clears.”

The Fraxure starts punching one of Giratina’s tree-like legs, and it uses that leg to gently press him into the ground. He shouts,

“I yield! I yield!”

Zekrom rolls its shoulders, “Oh, yeah, of course,” It avoids eye contact and looks over the sea of chittering Durant, who begin resuming their work while Zekrom stalls with various gesticulations and murmurs. The other three Fraxure walk over to the one underneath Giratina,

“Hey, could I get some help?”

Giratina sits down with its back four legs, and presses down a bit more. The biggest one squeaks,

“Uh, Giratina? Could you, let him go?”

Giratina stares off into the distance, whistling off-key. The three Fraxure all try to lift Giratina’s foot at once, but it turns non-corporeal for everyone but the one underneath. It smiles to itself, and pretends to find an interesting patch of wall. A few Durant amusedly communicate with their antennae, and the Mienfoo start trying to lift Giratina too. Zekrom blurts out,

“Giratina, I’m sorry.” It’s expression is droll, but sincere, and its claws are pursed in front of it.

Giratina freezes, and nearly falls back. The Fraxure crawls free, shouting,

“Yeah! Take that!”

He raises a fist at an immobile Giratina, who says,

“What.” It narrows its eyes, “What?”

Zekrom tilts its head just a little, “I said sorry.”

“Why?”

It clears its throat, “We didn’t meet in the most ideal fashion, especially when we tried to beat you up, and I sincerely apologize.”

Giratina gapes, then glares into the ground, nearly meeting the eyes of curious Fraxure and Axew. Zekrom gasps, and Giratina looks back up. It says, slowly,

“You aren’t… Trying to get me to do something?” Giratina makes unblinking eye contact with Zekrom.

“Of course not.” It smiles, “You don’t even have to forgive me. If you want to go right back to fighting, that’s fine.”

Giratina backs up too quickly, nearly trampling a Boldore and definitely trampling more chairs and an angry Durant’s berry stand. It turns around, saying,

“I have to leave.”

It immediately smashes into the gate wings-first, tries again and crashes its body into it, and freezes when it hears Zekrom talk again,

“Are you okay? If you want to talk about anythin-”

Giratina leaps back around, tail crashing into the wall with a thunderous impact, it screeches,

“I BEAT YOU UP TWICE.” Its shadow wings have retracted entirely into itself, “HOW ARE YOU SO CALM.”

Zekrom leans forward quizzically, “You lay down right in front of me!” It raises its arms, “YOU were being calm!”

“SHUT UP! I’M NOT EVEN REAL!”

The cavern is dead silent, only the distant river making noise. Giratina flickers out of existence, its limbs jumping into the other dimension one by one before it totally escapes into an astral plane. It watches Zekrom blast out of the gate and look around, stammering something indistinct. The Poliwrath who pulled them out of the river is sitting near the edge of the lake, play-fighting with a Poliwhirl, and accidentally wills itself back into existence right next to her. She squints, it stammers,

“Sorry, thanks for,”

The Poliwrath sizes it up, and says, “Did you want to play with the Poliwag?”

Giratina gapes, staring directly down at the tiny tadpoles crowding around its massive legs, and hears a shout,

“GIRATINA WAIT!”

Giratina vanishes again.

They continue like that for a while, Giratina floats somewhere through the cave system, but always makes sure that Zekrom is within visual range, for some reason. It just doesn’t feel as mad at Zekrom as it did before. Giratina knows deceit well, has failed to perform it many a time, and Zekrom has never tried anything like that. No ulterior motives could come out of such an idealistic Pokémon. Finally, Giratina lands in a cave nearly atop the mountain. There are clear marks of human traversal, but Giratina has finally collected its thoughts enough to sit down and wait for Zekrom to appear. It walks up the steps, and says,

“Giratina-

Giratina mumbles, fanning itself with its wings slightly, “I’d have to say that that was incredibly surprising, but also very welcome. I can’t imagine the last time that someone has apologized to me, and I’m finally in touch with all sorts of other emotions that I’ve repressed for so long.” Giratina glares at Zekrom, its whole body draped over a traffic barrier, “Which is all YOUR FAULT, by the way, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, uh.”

They exchange looks, rain patters in the back of the room, and Giratina faces the ground. It grumbles,

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Zekrom jerks its head up, “What? I was just tired, you travel really fast in with your Shadow Force.” It props itself up with one arm, “You don’t have to stop.”

Giratina flinches, then says,

“Maybe later.”

“Of course, just take your time-”

Giratina scoffs, “I just met you, Zekrom.” It glows with a dark aura, “You’re different to the other Pokémon I know, that’s for certain. But I just met you yesterday.”

Zekrom laughs, “Haha! You’re right!”

They sit, listening to the rain for about twelve seconds before Zekrom stands up and clears its throat, “But, uh, I do really want to know what happened to Rayquaza, and Iris if you know anything about her disappearance.”

Giratina glares, radiating red menace. This all couldn’t have been a ploy for just that, and if it was, Giratina can destroy Zekrom utterly. It responds with the appropriate level of venom in its voice, “I trapped them in the distortion world.”

Zekrom tilts its head, “Can you get them out?”

“I’d have to search for them manually. It’s a very big place, and I need a mirror just to go to it.”

Zekrom nods, “We can use the dome of the Pokémon League. They polish it to give it a radiant sheen.”

Giratina’s shadow spreads over to the wall, “You want to come with?”

“If I can!”

It notices what looks like a bit of hesitation in Zekrom’s voice, and nods slowly.

“All right. Let’s leave immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LITERALLY finished this in THREE DAYS. I am ON FIRE. I will die but i'll finish this dumb thing before then!!!!
> 
> Also I'm upset that Durant and Heatmor have like rarely been used before??? Expect some stuff outta me hope fully

**Author's Note:**

> This probably has the stupidest possible story behind it. I love getting inspired by youtube comments. 
> 
> Any sort of feedback would be appreciated! This is kinda *very* experimental, and also a lot of fun!


End file.
